- Ookla data shows that Verizon delivered the fastest mobile download speeds at many major U.S. airports.
- Mobile networks in general tended to be faster than airport Wi-Fi, and on average twice as fast.
- Wi-Fi is still prevalent in some locations, but most airports have not yet adopted the more recent Wi-Fi standards.
The report of Ooklathat analyzed Speedtest data from the first half of 2025, found that Big Red delivered the fastest average download speeds at many major US airports. The report compared airport Wi-Fi performance to that of AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon at the nation’s 50 busiest airports, looking specifically at average download speeds.
As you’d expect in 2025, mobile networks were faster than Wi-Fi at airports in most cases, with an average speed of around 219 Mbps for downloads, compared to around 101 Mbps for Wi-Fi. Airport Wi-Fi still came out ahead in a handful of places, but more often than not lost out in comparison.
Ookla’s analysis also points to a structural reason for the gap. Most airport Wi-Fi networks still rely on older Wi-Fi standards, which were designed to serve large numbers of connected devices rather than prioritizing peak speeds. This approach works for simple browsing, but can be difficult when thousands of passengers are online at the same time.
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