Best Phone Coverage in San Diego: Cell Service in the City in Motion

San Diego, a populous city on the Pacific coast, is an amazing place to live. Whether you live there already or are planning a move, finding the best cell phone coverage in San Diego is essential to making the most out of your time in the area. Coverage peters out around the coast, but different networks have strengths and weaknesses around the city. This article will cover the best cell phone coverage in San Diego and why each of these carriers makes it into our top three. 

Our research found that AT&T, Verizon, and Tello Mobile are the top three for best phone coverage in San Diego. This article features detailed information on the following: 

• Map of the fastest cell phone coverage in San Diego
• Local and national carriers that cover San Diego
• Frequently asked questions about phone coverage in San Diego

Phone Coverage in San Diego at a Glance

Lightning-Fast Data Speeds on Major Networks

San Diego’s many beaches make speeds and coverage vary more than in other areas. The coverage in the city, however, is quite excellent among the three major networks. There is almost complete 5G coverage in city limits, making every one of the three major carriers an excellent choice for coverage in the city. The best cell phone coverage in San Diego, however, goes to AT&T. They win the crown due to the reliability of their 5G network, something that they have over the other two major providers. 

Local and National Cell Phone Carriers in San Diego

The top three carriers in San Diego are AT&T, Verizon, and Tello Mobile. 

AT&T separates itself from the pack with its high coverage in San Diego. Verizon, with its 5G Ultra Wideband network, is a strong second vying for the best phone coverage in San Diego. Along with T-Mobile, these three companies are the major wireless networks in the United States. This means they own and maintain their own mobile network. For customers, it means they offer bigger plans with faster, priority data at a high cost each month. 

Our third pick is Tello Mobile, our favorite MVNO to provide the best cell phone coverage in San Diego. MVNOs, like Tello Mobile, rent their bandwidth from the big three networks to give their customers cheaper access to data. These lower prices are possible because their plans often offer limited high-speed data and less data priority, meaning there is a greater chance of data throttling in times of high usage. There are many MVNOs on each network. Tello Mobile uses Verizon’s coverage, and they made it onto our list because of their excellently priced low-data plans. 

Let’s take a look at which of these carriers use the network that gives people in San Diego the best phone coverage.

#1 in San Diego: AT&T 

Best Cell Phone Plan Range in San Diego

AT&T provides the best cell phone coverage in San Diego with its reliable service and fast network. Every major wireless network is hustling to roll out 5G coverage in the USA, and AT&T is currently your best bet for San Diego. Their 5G network is very strong and will give you high-speed data almost everywhere in the city. Beaches, in particular, like Carlsbad and Coronado, are where AT&T really shines. The coverage extends further into the surf than the competition, meaning AT&T users on the beach receive full-speed data. In contrast, Verizon and T-Mobile customers are on the edge of their company’s service and, as a result, have much slower speeds.

Price: Varies

Plan: AT&T offers three unlimited plans at various price points. Their price is comparable to the plans at Verizon. 

AT&T offers three unlimited plans. 

• AT&T Unlimited Starter Plan
• AT&T Unlimited Extra Plan
• AT&T Unlimited Premium Plan

There are few surprises in AT&T’s unlimited plan pricing. Like Verizon and T-Mobile, these plans start at a very high price point before any multi-line savings. Opening a single-line account with a major wireless company is always expensive, and while there are some great new customer deals out there, we caution you to look at the contracts and ties that come with the deal. Many lock you into paying more over a few years than you initially saved. With three cell phone plans, AT&T has a basic plan with few bells and whistles, a medium plan, and a premium plan with many extras. 

• AT&T’s starter plan has unlimited high-speed data with 3 GBs of high-speed hotspot data.  
• AT&T’s extra plan comes with 50 GB of premium data and 15 GB of high-speed hotspot data. 
• AT&T’s premium plan comes with unlimited premium data and 50 GB of high-speed hotspot data.

When you are walking around the trendy spots of Hillcrest or North Park, you may notice slowdowns if you have basic high-speed data, as these spots are usually swarming with young professionals who are on their phones for all manner of bandwidth-consuming activities. We recommend starting with the starter plan. If you notice data slowdowns with some regularity during your travels in San Diego and you wish to avoid them, then a switch to one of their higher-tier plans is more than worthwhile. 

👍 What We Liked

• Area Coverage. All three major networks put a lot of money into their networks annually, and AT&T has the very best coverage in San Diego. That extra coverage means fewer slowdowns and dead spots within the city.  
• Family Plan Savings. The savings with multi-line plans are incredible at AT&T. This is true for all major wireless networks, but it bears mentioning here as well. Family plan savings are amazing. 

👎 What We Didn’t Like

• SD Streaming. AT&T’s first two tiers of the unlimited plan only offer SD streaming, a big downside for anyone who likes to watch video on mobile networks. 
• Premium Data. While it is an unlikely occurrence, a surprise slow-down of your mobile service is quite vexing. Their basic unlimited plan provides no premium data, and while the second tier comes with 50 GB, that goes quickly if you use your phone a decent amount.  

‍

#2 in San Diego: Verizon Wireless 

Fastest 5G and 4G LTE in San Diego

Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network brings them just behind AT&T in the race for the best cell phone coverage in San Diego. While Verizon’s lightning-fast 5G network (download speeds upwards of 100 Mbps) is incredible, it is only available in select locations in the country. The dark red spots in the coverage map denote their most powerful 5G network, leaving a lot of areas with spotty coverage. There are reports of new, 5G-capable phones have spotty coverage in areas of San Diego because they reach for a slow 5G connection rather than a strong 4G LTE connection. 

This is a problem seen around the country. Imagine walking to the edge of your house's WiFi zone. Your signal gets super weak, but there are several feet where your phone remains on WiFi coverage instead of switching to the network, where you can’t load anything. That’s what happens if you are in an area with weak (but receivable) 5G coverage. Verizon users all over the country have noted that problem with their devices.  

While it is common, it only happens in a few particular areas in San Diego. Verizon outputs some of the best cell phone coverage in San Diego in the majority of the metro area and beyond. 

Price: Varies

Plan: Verizon offers a pair of unlimited plans. One has unlimited high-speed data, and the other has unlimited premium high-speed data.  

Verizon offers two unlimited plans. 

• Welcome Unlimited, priced at $65/55/40/30 a month per line
• Unlimited Plus, priced at $80/70/55/45 a month per line

While expensive, multi-line savings make these two plans much more affordable. On top of unlimited premium data, the unlimited plus comes with the following: 

• 30 GB mobile hotspot
• Device savings
• Price Guarantee
• Premium data

Regardless of the number of lines, the unlimited plus plan is $15 more per line on your account. This is a lot, but the premium data comes in handy in spaces with high data usage. It is hard to gauge how important premium data is. There are many areas around the country where Verizon’s network is strong enough to keep everyone using full-speed data, but there are a lot of other areas, especially in big cities, where data is slowed down almost every day. We recommend starting on the less expensive plan and checking your data speeds for a month or two. San Diego is a big city, but new networks are strong. If you notice slow data, we recommend switching to a more expensive plan if you have the budget for it. 

Alongside the base plans, Verizon offers a package of optional add-ons that each add $10 to your cell phone bill. The best part is that you can skip them entirely and stick to the base plan price, but if you find any Verizon add-ons you like, adding them to your plan always saves a few dollars on the service. 

👍 What We Liked

• 5G Ultra Wideband Coverage. When you have 5G data, it is incredible. There are some troubles with phone network priority, but Verizon’s general coverage is fantastic.  
• Family Plan Savings. Verizon single-line costs are crazy. We recommend finding friends and family to create a multi-line account and enjoy serious savings. 

👎 What We Didn’t Like

• Price. Even though they have a strong network and provide services to make the price worthwhile, Verizon is very expensive. If you are planning to open a single-line plan, the best way to utilize Verizon’s amazing network is through an MVNO like Visible Wireless. 
• Customer Service. This appears to be a common trend among cell phone companies, but there are many negative experiences with Verizon’s customer service.

#3 in San Diego: Tello Mobile

Most Affordable Cell Phone Plans in San Diego

Our favorite MVNO in San Diego is Tello Mobile. They are known for their incredibly affordable cell phone plans that let you save big on your phone bill. 

Price: Varies

Plan: Tello Mobile offers a variety of plans between 0 GBs of high-speed data and 25 GBs of high-speed data. 

Tello Mobile is an excellent choice for people interested in low-data plans. They offer the following plans: 

• 500 MB for $9 a month
• 1 GB for $10 a month
• 2 GBs for $14 a month
• 5 GBs for $19 a month
• 10 GBs for $24 a month
• 25 GBs for $29 a month

Tello Mobile uses Verizon’s network for coverage, giving its users fantastic nationwide 4G LTE and 5G data. Since none of these plans offer unlimited high-speed data, you need to watch your consumption. If you chew through the 25 GB of allocated high-speed data quickly each month, these plans are not for you. If you can ration your data, however, you will save a ton on your cell phone bill each month. 

👍 What We Liked

• Excellent customer service. Online reviews rave about Tello Mobile, a feat for any cellular provider. Tello Mobile has one of the highest-rated customer service branches in the country, and we are confident that whenever issues arise, its customer service will do all in its power to fix them.  
• Competitive prices among MVNOs. Tello Mobile’s prices are fantastic. The reason you would switch to a carrier like Tello Mobile is to save money. Tello’s plans cater to low-data users. If you spend most of the day in WiFi zones and are able to limit usage when out and about, you will save big on your cell phone bill. 

👎 What We Didn’t Like

• No multi-line savings. Tello Mobile’s plans are priced amazingly, but they do not offer any savings for multi-line plans. This makes them great for single-line accounts, but if you are part of a family plan, the affordability of Tello Mobile diminishes in relation to multi-line savings from MVNOs like Mint and Cricket. 
• Data deprioritization. It is not a surprise, but your data will slow whenever there is a high strain on the bandwidth in your area. There is a high possibility that you will lose data speeds in San Diego

Get to Know Your Local Carrier Options in San Diego

While not included on this list, T-Mobile has an excellent presence in San Diego as well. Their data is notoriously unreliable in the wider area surrounding San Diego, but you can expect solid coverage the majority of the time on T-Mobile. Alongside the big three, there are many MVNOs like Tello Mobile that provide affordable and reliable coverage in the area. In this section, we want to highlight two of our favorite MVNOs, Mint Mobile and Visible Wireless. You’ve already seen Tello Mobile, which is our favorite for low-data single-line accounts. Mint Mobile is our favorite for medium-data multi-line accounts, and Visible Wireless is our favorite for high-data single-line accounts. 

Mint Mobile operates on T-Mobile's network and is known for affordable cell phone plans. It is best for medium-data users because their unlimited plan is not unlimited high-speed data. Mint’s unlimited plan comes with 35 GB of high-speed data before your data is throttled to 3G speeds.

Visible Wireless is our favorite MVNO for high-data users. They only have two plans, both of which provide unlimited high-speed data. Visible’s plans start at $30, and they don’t have any multi-line savings. Their inexpensive single-line plans make it our top choice for anyone interested in opening a single-line account with unlimited high-speed data. 

FAQ: Your Questions About Cell Phone Coverage in San Diego, Answered

Is AT&T or Verizon better in San Diego?

AT&T provides the best phone coverage in San Diego, but Verizon is a close second. They are both upgrading their service in the area to provide faster and more reliable coverage in the future. 

Is T-Mobile coverage good in San Diego?

While all three major carriers have excellent signals in San Diego, T-Mobile lags behind the competition. 

What is the best cell service in the Bay Area?

In the larger Bay Area, AT&T came out ahead among serious competition. 

TLDR; AT&T is your best bet for fast phone coverage in San Diego

Use really.com to compare! 

AT&T provides the best cell phone coverage in San Diego due to its hyper-reliable network coverage extending throughout the city. If you want more info about plans available in San Diego, compare carriers at Really.com to decide which phone carrier is best for you.