
Apex Capital Corp Joins Transflo's Workflow AI Ecosystem to Enhance Factoring Automation and Client Service
TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Transflo today announced that Apex Capital Corp ('Apex'), a leading global provider of freight factoring services, has joined the Transflo Workflow AI Ecosystem to streamline the processing and auditing of incoming documents. This partnership marks a key step in Apex's continued commitment to delivering a faster, more efficient experience for its clients.
With Apex now part of the Transflo ecosystem, nearly 50% of transportation factoring companies leverage Transflo Workflow AI.
Share
With Apex now part of the Transflo ecosystem, nearly 50% of transportation factoring companies leverage Transflo Workflow AI.
'We're thrilled to welcome Apex Capital Corp to the Transflo network,' said Renee Krug, CEO of Transflo. 'Expanding our ecosystem with leading factors and brokers strengthens the reach of our network, which ultimately drives greater efficiency and value for all participants—factors, brokers, carriers, and shippers alike.'
Transflo's Workflow AI is the industry's next-generation platform for automating factoring operations, helping transportation companies boost productivity and reduce manual processing.
To learn more, visit www.apexcapitalcorp.com and www.transflo.com.
About Transflo
Transflo is the trusted industry leader in mobile, telematics, and business process automation solutions for the transportation industry in North America. Transflo's customer-focused mobile and cloud-based technologies deliver real-time communications to fleets, brokers, factors, shippers, and commercial vehicle drivers, and digitize 800 million shipping documents a year, representing approximately $115 billion in freight bills and more than 3.2 million downloads of the Mobile+ app.
About Apex Capital Corp
Founded in 1995, Apex Capital is a full-service freight factor that specializes in small to medium-sized trucking companies. Apex is the leading freight factoring company for the trucking industry. Apex buys freight bills and provides industry recognized customer service, credit checks, 24-7 factoring, the blynk® digital payment platform, a Mobile Factoring® app, a free load board, NextLOAD.com, the Apex Fuel Card and many other benefits to its clients.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Android Authority
15 hours ago
- Android Authority
Let's rank all the Android phone camera apps from worst to best
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority There's more to a great camera phone than hardware. Sure, camera sensors, focal lengths, and the chipset all have a major role to play. However, a phone's camera app can make or break the experience. So with this in mind, we decided to rank every major Android phone maker's pre-installed camera app from worst to best! We took several factors into account, namely image quality, the quantity and quality of features (not including gallery features), and the camera app's design. I relied on some colleagues to rank the camera apps, but also used my own discretion in a few places. Either way, this is just for fun, but you can give us your own list in the comments! Which smartphone maker has the best camera app? 1 votes Google 0 % HONOR 0 % Motorola 0 % Nothing 0 % OPPO/OnePlus 0 % Samsung 0 % Sony 0 % TECNO 0 % vivo 100 % Xiaomi 0 % 10. TECNO Hadlee Simons / Android Authority We thought TECNO's HiOS was the worst Android skin out of all the major manufacturers, and the camera app isn't much better. The good news is that the app has a solid, if generic, UI. That's where the positives generally end. My time with 2023's Phantom V Flip and Phantom V Fold devices showed that TECNO's camera app didn't threaten rivals for image quality. Daytime snaps are handled well enough, but low-light performance is inconsistent to outright poor. You'd better enable the Super Night mode in these scenarios. The camera app also tends to suffer from poor zoom quality, even when the phone has a telephoto camera. TECNO's camera app doesn't have many standout features, although basic options like an ultra-steady video mode, night mode, and full-resolution capture are available. There are also plenty of beautification features if that's your thing, including a plump butt filter (seriously). Just don't expect features like Samsung's Single Take or Google's Add Me. At least the brand beat Google to the punch by a few years in offering better support for darker skin tones. 9. HONOR Robert Triggs / Android Authority HONOR routinely offers some fantastic camera hardware, as seen on its Magic 7 Pro and foldable phones. However, the company could do a better job with the camera app. For starters, the camera UI isn't bad, but it lags well behind big-name rivals. There's nothing here that truly screams 'HONOR.' The camera app generally delivers solid image quality. Colleague C Scott Brown praised the consistency across all three rear cameras on the Magic V3 foldable, while Rob Triggs praised the HDR performance in our Magic 7 Pro review. However, Rob sharply criticized the phone's AI-assisted zoom, which added obvious AI-generated imagery at 30x or higher, as well as the AI-enhanced portrait mode. Scott also took issue with the oversaturated colors in general. The camera app also has plenty of modes and features. These include three color profiles, LUT support, a variety of filters, a stage mode, a night video mode, and a 'Falcon Capture' option for fast-moving subjects. It clearly keeps up with other brands in this regard but doesn't pull ahead. 8. Motorola Ryan Haines / Android Authority I relied on our US writers to give me their opinions on Motorola's camera app owing to the brand's ready availability there. Meanwhile, my last experience with a Motorola phone was probably 2016's Moto Z Play. Oof. In any event, the camera app UI is a little generic at first glance, but it evokes the Pixel camera app due to that familiar camera mode carousel. At least you can't accuse Motorola of copying the iPhone camera app. Motorola's image quality hasn't historically been great. Our reviewer complaints over the years include over-sharpened and/or over-saturated images during the day and dark, blurry snaps at night. The camera situation has improved in recent times, but good low-light images aren't a guarantee on its budget phones or the Razr series. The Moto camera app doesn't have the most tricks, either. We've got expected features like portrait mode and night mode, as well as cool additions like horizon-locked stabilization and the ever-fun color pop feature. Fortunately, the latest flagships also offer nifty options like Action Shot, Group Shot, and a Signature Style feature that learns your desired image style. Pretty cool. 7. Sony Alex Walker-Todd / Android Authority Sony is arguably the king of camera software for photography enthusiasts. The company has historically offered plenty of pro-level features in its camera app, including eye-tracking autofocus, several video profiles (e.g., S-Cinetone), and a smorgasbord of manual photo/video controls. The Sony app even lets you pair your phone with a Sony Alpha camera — how cool is that? Sony's app doesn't have a lot of traditional smartphone tools, though, but you still have robust livestream support, portrait mode, a variety of color profiles, full-resolution photo capture, and bokeh video. Sony previously had several camera apps on its phones, making for a messy experience. Thankfully, the company has since integrated all these apps into one camera app. The actual UI design isn't anything to write home about, but it's not bad. We also thought that recent Sony flagship phones, like the Xperia 1 VI, took great images that didn't look over-processed. However, colleague Rob Triggs previously opined that the Xperia 1 V wasn't as consistent as rival handsets, and consistency is key for a great camera app. We haven't reviewed a mid-range Xperia phone in a couple of years, but colleague Adam Birney previously described the Xperia 10 IV's cameras as 'below average.' In other words, there's no guarantee that basic image quality holds up across various price points. 6. Nothing C. Scott Brown / Android Authority Nothing's camera app would be ranked lower on the list, but our US reviewers all ranked it in their top five. I can see why, based on the camera app UI, which offers a distinctive design. You really aren't going to mistake this for a Pixel or iPhone. The company is starting from scratch, so it can't lean on legacy features, but there are a few cool capabilities worth knowing. For one, the Nothing Phone 3a series offers custom camera filters that can be shared with other Nothing Phone owners. These phones also offer a decent variety of neat filters, along with Log video support and the ability to upload custom LUTs for images. In fact, colleague Ryan Haines praised the latter feature last month. You also have the expected portrait and night modes, but that's about it. So you'll have to look elsewhere if you want loads of camera modes and tools. We thought Nothing devices took some solid photos over the past few years using this camera app, although we lamented issues like shutter lag and poor low-light quality on previous phones. But the Nothing Phone 3a series shows the brand has a good handle on hybrid zoom. 5. Xiaomi Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority Xiaomi has delivered some excellent camera phones in recent years, such as the Xiaomi 15 Ultra and Xiaomi 14 Ultra. These phones have impressive hardware, but the Xiaomi camera app also delivers good image quality. Even the company's cheap Android phones generally offer solid to good 1x shots, although they do tend to lag behind the Pixel A series. The Xiaomi camera app is packed full of features. Options found on flagships include adjustable color profiles on Leica-branded handsets, an AI Zoom toggle for long-range zoom, Log video, a motion capture mode for fast-moving subjects, and more. Cheaper Xiaomi phones lag far behind in terms of modes, but you still have options like a long-exposure suite of modes, a motion capture feature for fast-moving subjects, and a teleprompter mode. I'd argue that Xiaomi's app still doesn't have its own visual identity after all this time. I can take a split-second glance at Samsung or Google's camera app and know what I'm looking at, but the same can't be said for the Xiaomi app. 4. vivo Hadlee Simons / Android Authority The vivo camera app just misses out on a podium spot, but this is still a good showing. Vivo phones generally offer good photo quality, although over-processing can be an issue in some scenarios (e.g., low light). So, those who prefer more natural-looking images might be a little disappointed at times. Easily the best thing about the vivo camera app is the number of features and modes. The company offers a variety of portrait options (e.g. plenty of bokeh styles), some color profiles, LOG video, SuperRaw photos, a cinematic video mode on recent mid-rangers and flagships, handheld astrophotography, a teleprompter mode, perspective correction for buildings, and a street photography mode. The latter mode can be activated with an upward swipe and gives you a camera-like UI and custom shooting profiles. The app isn't going to win any awards as far as looks are concerned. The black, yellow, and white color scheme reminds me of Apple, and there's also the usual overflow menu at the top of the screen. I really like how vivo handles zoom controls, though. It lets you tap the preset zoom buttons a few more times to cycle through more zoom levels (e.g. tapping 1x will give you 1.2x and 1.4x options). So while it's not the best-looking app here, it makes up for this downside in other areas. 3. Samsung Hadlee Simons / Android Authority The Samsung camera app has just undergone a major overhaul as part of the company's One UI 7 update. This redesigned camera app certainly looks and feels fresh compared to rival camera apps while being optimized for one-handed usage. Samsung's app also has a good number of features, including cool options like Single Take, Director's View, and custom filters. Samsung also offers the Expert Raw app to expand the functionality of the stock camera app, but several rival brands offer some of these features without needing an extra camera app. Samsung's app has also long had a reputation for delivering arguably the best video quality on Android, but photo quality isn't as clear-cut. Photos generally look great, but problems like shutter lag on the Ultra and A series phones have made for a frustrating experience. Samsung's cheaper phones also sometimes capture extremely over-saturated snaps, as I found out on the Galaxy A55 5G last year. 2. OnePlus/OPPO Ryan Haines / Android Authority Are you surprised to see the OnePlus/OPPO camera app in the number-two spot? OnePlus flagships, in particular, used to lag behind the competition in terms of image processing, but the company has made major improvements over the past couple of years. In fact, we said the OnePlus 13 makes our shortlist for the best Android camera phone. You can also capture good-quality 1x shots on recently released mid-tier devices. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but it's noteworthy as the firm's cheaper phones used to offer a disappointing shooting experience. The biggest downside to the OnePlus camera app is perhaps the visual design. The viewfinder itself is inoffensive and relatively clean, but the settings menu rips off the iPhone camera's settings page. Perhaps the camera app's biggest strength is the breadth of features, at least on high-end phones. Flagship devices enjoy Hasselblad color profiles, a neat XPAN shooting mode, a Master Mode, and a variety of smart scenes (e.g. stage, fireworks). Cheaper OnePlus and OPPO phones definitely get the very short end of the stick, but you still have notable features like high-resolution shooting, long-exposure functionality, portrait photo/video capture, and tilt-shift. 1. Google C. Scott Brown / Android Authority Is this the greatest Android OEM camera app ever made? It's hard to argue from a historical perspective, as the Pixel camera app was the gold standard for almost a decade. It says a lot about your camera app when enthusiasts continue to unofficially port it to other smartphones in 2025. Google's camera app certainly looks the business, offering a simple, distinctive UI. I'm still not a fan of the pro settings icon in the bottom right corner, though, as I often confuse it for the main settings menu. Nevertheless, the Pixel camera app's popularity stems from its image quality. Google's HDR+ imaging algorithms were a cut above almost every other brand's image-processing software in the 2010s, as unofficial ports of the app delivered fantastic photos on even $200 phones. A few manufacturers have caught and arguably surpassed Google in 2025, but Pixel phones still generally take fantastic, natural-looking images. Google's app continues to deliver class-leading hybrid zoom, too, thanks to its Super Res Zoom tech. That means phones like the Pixel 9 Pro can take great 10x shots while mid-range Pixels without a telephoto camera still do a decent job out to 3x or 4x. Google's camera app offers standout features like Add Me, Video Boost, a shadow slider, and an astrophotography mode. However, the app is missing features seen on rival devices like user-selectable color profiles, Log video mode, native 8K capture, 4K/120fps video, and multi-camera capture. In spite of the feature gap, the Pixel camera app is still our pick for the top camera app among Android brands.

Business Insider
2 days ago
- Business Insider
T-Mobile review: Packed with perks, but is it worth the price?
It's hard to go wrong with T-Mobile. It offers some of the best plans and value among the big three carriers in the US. Admittedly, more so if you're taking out multiple lines. Like AT&T and Verizon, T-Mobile is an ideal option for multi-line plans thanks to its multi-line discounts, especially those with three or more lines. Those with fewer lines can still enjoy T-Mobile and all its benefits, like in-person customer support at physical locations, and depending on the plan, comprehensive international features and discounts on popular streaming services. However, we'd recommend that single or dual-line accounts consider mobile-virtual-network-operator (MVNO) options, which are significantly less expensive than T-Mobile's plans, and dominate our cheap cell phone plans guide. The only way you could go wrong is if you pick T-Mobile in an area with weak coverage. This isn't a dig at T-Mobile's coverage; the same word of caution applies to all carriers, as they all have varying coverage in different parts of the country. With that said, T-Mobile has one major drawback relative to other major carriers that bears consideration — it doesn't let you mix-and-match plans (picking different plans for different lines). That could lead to unnecessarily higher monthly plan costs if other users in your account have different needs. Plans T-Mobile has three main postpaid plans — the basic Essentials (including the Essentials Saver plan), the mid-range Experience More, and the high-end Experience Beyond plans. The Essentials plan offers T-Mobile's best value with all the data most people need, even if the network may temporarily become artificially slower when it is congested (more on that in the coverage and data speeds section below). However, T-Mobile's Essentials plan lacks additional features found in the Experience plan that some may need, like high-speed mobile hotspot, satellite messaging when you're out of coverage areas, and extended international features. Experience plans also include discounts on popular streaming services and smartwatch or tablet plans, which are nice bonuses. You can get included Apple TV+ and ad-supported Netflix subscriptions on Experience More, and the Experience Beyond tier also throws in ad-supported Hulu. Prices are guaranteed for five years on both Experience plans as well. Other benefits on all three tiers include free in-flight WiFi, free months of service to SiriusXM and Pandora Streaming, and an MLS season pass (offers rotate regularly). Plus, there's T-Mobile Tuesdays to regularly mix things up by providing free Slurpees, pizza, $5 movie tickets, discounted fuel, cashback at restaurants, and more. If you've been reconsidering your home internet options lately, you'll get extra savings on T-Mobile's internet packages if you're on one of these plans. We're testing one of their 5G home internet plans right now and will have a review soon - it's pretty impressive so far. You can find plan details on T-Mobile's website, and we've included them below for your convenience: Plan features Essentials Experience More Experience Beyond Premium data 50GB Unlimited Unlimited Mobile hotspot Unlimited at 3G speeds (slow) 60GB high-speed Unlimited high-speed (capped at 250GB, then hotspot data is slow 3G speeds) Satellite messaging Beta included until July 2025 $10 per month optional extra Beta included until July 2025 $10 per month optional extra Included Smartwatch and tablet plans Optional extra, starts at $12/month Optional extra, starts at $12/month Discounted to $5/month per line Max savings of $22/month Streaming service discounts None Free Apple TV Plus and Netflix Standard with ads Savings with both subscriptions: $17.98/month Free Apple TV Plus, Netflix Standard with ads, Hulu with ads Max savings of: $27.97/month Device upgrades Can't upgrade before 24 months if bought with a deal from T-Mobile. Every two years Every year (you can trade in your phone after six or more months to upgrade) International features In Canada and Mexico: Unlimited talk, text, 128Kbps data (essentially unusably slow) Abroad: Unlimited texting in 215+ countries and destinations In Canada and Mexico: Unlimited talk, text, 15GB high-speed data Abroad: Unlimited text, 5GB high-speed data in 215+ countries and destinations Full flight texting and WiFi with streaming where available (mostly domestic US flights) In Canada and Mexico: Unlimited talk, text, 30GB high-speed data Abroad: Unlimited text, 15GB high-speed data in 215+ countries and destinations Full flight texting and WiFi with streaming where available (mostly domestic US flights) At the time of writing, T-Mobile also has a limited-time promotion for its plans where you can get a third line free (the same price as two lines). It also has the limited-time Essentials 4 Line offer for $100 per month. These promotions are outrageously good value for families or friend groups with three or more lines. Lines Essentials (including Essentials Saver, 3rd line free, and 4-line offer) Experience More (including 3rd line free offer) Experience Beyond (including 3rd line free offer) 1 $50/month $85/month $100/month 2 $40 per line ($80 total)/month $70 per line ($140 total)/month $85 per line ($170 total)/month 3 $30 per line ($90 total)/month $46.60 per line ($140 total)/month $56.60 per line ($170 total)/month 4 $25 per line ($100 total)/month $42.50 per line ($170 total)/month $53.75 per line ($215 total)/month 5 $24 per line ($120 total)/month $40 per line ($200 total)/month $52 per line ($260 total)/month T-Mobile Experience More plan T-Mobile's Experience More plan is an excellent for most people with good T-Mobile coverage, as it comes with unlimited premium data, a generous 60GB of mobile hotspot data, tempting discounts on popular streaming services like Netflix and Apple TV Plus, and comprehensive international features. Check price at T-Mobile No mix-and-match plans with T-Mobile Unlike other carriers, T-Mobile doesn't let you add differing plans under one multi-line account — every line in the account must have the same plan. That inflexibility can be somewhat mitigated by T-Mobile's 3rd-line-free promotion, but all the users in an account are still beholden to the cost of the highest-tier plan in the account. For example, if one person in an account needs the Experience Beyond plan, but the others only need the Essentials plan, everyone has to get the Experience Beyond plan and pay more than they would if they could mix and match plans. When it makes sense to get the Essentials plan If you do not need mobile hotspot data If you do not need built-in international features When it makes sense to upgrade to the Experience More plan If you need up to 60GB of fast mobile hotspot data If you need some international connectivity When it makes sense to get the Experience Beyond plan If you need up to 250GB of fast mobile hotspot data If you need lots of international connectivity You're sometimes or often off the grid and would benefit from satellite messaging, emergency services included. Note that Apple includes free Emergency SOS via satellite and Messaging via satellite free for two years after activating an iPhone 14 series or newer. The iPhone 14 is over two years old at this point, and Apple has yet to release a pricing structure for its satellite services. Don't upgrade to an Experience plan just for the streaming service and watch/tablet line discounts The maximum savings from the streaming service discounts on the Experience More plan is around $18, and up to $28 on the Experience Beyond plan. Even with all the discounts on the Experience Beyond plan combined, including streaming services and watch/tablet lines, the maximum savings amount to $50. Those discounts won't offset the added cost of the Experience plans if all you need is the Essentials plan. They are nice benefits if you also need the core features included in the Experience plans that aren't included in the Essentials plan, like fast (usable) hotspot data and extended international features. T-Mobile offers the plans with discounts for members of the military and veterans, first responders, and customers aged 55 or older. T-Mobile also offers prepaid plans, but they are poor value compared to mobile-virtual-network-operator (MVNO) options, many of which run on T-Mobile's network. MVNOs tend to offer the same amount or more data than T-Mobile's prepaid plans for lower monthly costs. The first MVNO alternative to T-Mobile's prepaid plans that comes to mind is Mint Mobile, which T-Mobile purchased back in 2024, and tops our list in our guide for the best cheap cell phone plans. Coverage T-Mobile has typically excellent coverage in many urban and suburban areas, and its rural coverage is expanding quickly. It can even serve certain areas better than other major carriers. To be sure, the opposite can be true for other areas. I can't say whether T-Mobile's coverage works for you and your area, and while T-Mobile's coverage map can give you an idea, no carrier coverage map is truly accurate. The best way to determine if T-Mobile works well in your area is to ask local friends, family, and neighbors. You can also check local groups on social media channels, like Facebook and If someone says T-Mobile's coverage isn't good, ask which carrier works for them. You might find that no carrier works well in that area, as is the case around my home. I fully realize the irony that someone writing a carrier review has poor coverage from every major carrier. Don't worry, I venture out to various spots in and out of town to test signal strength and data speeds. Data speeds T-Mobile advertises data speeds between 79 and 357 Mbps on its Essentials plans, and between 89 and 418 Mbps on its Beyond plans. Our speed tests varied wildly, regardless of plans — as high as 902 Mbps in busy parts of town, to as low as 0.97 Mbps in leafy residential areas not too far away from the busy section. Interestingly, I saw fast speeds up to 303 Mbps in sparsely populated "back-country" parts of my area. To be sure, T-Mobile data speeds will differ nationwide, and even in different parts of my town. Data speed differences between the two plans Unlike data speeds in my test areas, the difference in data speeds between the Essentials plan and the Experience Beyond plan can be translated to almost anyone across the country. T-Mobile's website has a fine-print clause beneath its plan offerings stating that the Essentials plan may deliver slower data speeds than higher-tier plans. My tests confirm that this is true. Still, while measurable, the difference in data download speeds isn't dramatic — the Essentials plan recorded 19% slower speeds on average than the Experience Beyond plan across 31 tests in various parts of town, including busy commercial areas, residential zones, parks, and backcountry. To put that into perspective, the average download speed on the Essentials plan was 220 Mbps in my tests, and 263 Mbps on the Experience Beyond plan. Both speeds are easily fast enough for most people, and the experience of using apps was identical on both the Essentials and Experience Beyond plans, whether I was in an area with slow or fast speeds. This means that those leaning toward the more affordable Essentials plan shouldn't be concerned about slower speeds or a meaningfully different experience compared to the higher-tier plans. Speeds Essentials Saver Experience Beyond Percentage difference Average download speeds (Mbps) 220 263 19% Average upload speeds (Mbps) 17 18 5% Additionally, the fastest speed test we recorded was 902 Mbps on the Essentials plan. The fastest speed test recorded on the Experience Beyond plan was 856 Mbps. Phone deals Like most major carriers in the US, T-Mobile has tempting deals for new phones. Deals differ for different phones, so you'll need to check the specific deals for the one you'd like. Still, it's possible to get even a high-end $1,000 iPhone 16 Pro for free with various condition combinations, like trading in a phone, signing up for a specific plan, or switching to T-Mobile from a different carrier. The trade-in value of your old phone depends on its generational age. For example, an iPhone 13 has a higher trade-in value than the iPhone 12. There are deals with varying conditions for almost every phone on T-Mobile, many get you a new phone for free, and some aren't even dependent on signing up for a pricey high-end plan. You generally get a better deal when signing up for higher-tier plans. The overarching phone deal condition with T-Mobile is that you must keep the phone for 24 months (two years) before you can upgrade to a new one. The exception is the Experience Beyond plan, which lets you upgrade yearly. At these times, you'll also have access to the same deals as new customers. To be sure, T-Mobile offers a shorter window before you can upgrade phones than Verizon and AT&T, which don't let you upgrade for 36 months (or three years). Should you sign up for T-Mobile? T-Mobile's plans propose some of the best value among major carriers, especially the Essentials and Experience More plans. As with most major carriers, you get better value with more lines on your account, generally around three or more lines. We recommend that those with less than three lines look at MVNOs, including Mint Mobile, which T-Mobile acquired. MVNO options often have similar features and data as the basic postpaid plans from major carriers for a lower monthly bill. For more information, take a look at our roundups of the latest Mint Mobile plans and Visible mobile deals. Still, T-Mobile's physical locations are a major benefit. They can offer superior in-person support than the phone and online-based support MVNOs offer. If you'd rather go to a physical location for anything related to your cell service, whether setting up your plan on your phone or troubleshooting an issue, you'll be better off with T-Mobile. Only rule out T-Mobile if you find it has poor coverage in your area. After all, value doesn't matter if you can't use the service. T-Mobile Essentials Plans T-Mobile's Essentials and Essentials Saver plans constitute the most affordable premium plans among the major carriers. It's a downright bargain with four or five lines on a single plan and includes 50GB of premium monthly data per line before T-Mobile slows down your data speeds. Just note that Essentials users may experience slower speeds than higher-paying T-Mobile customers during heavy network congestion. Check price at T-Mobile Shop all T-Mobile deals


CNET
3 days ago
- CNET
Beyond the Hype: J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Survey Confirms 5G Internet Might Be Here to Stay
Since its widespread launch in 2019, 5G home internet has become a staple in many urban homes and a viable solution for rural connectivity. While I generally tout a 'fiber-first' mindset when recommending cost-efficient, reliable high-speed internet options, 5G has often surpassed my expectations, and consumers seem to think so, too. J.D. Power data from 2024 and 2025 suggests that customers prefer fixed wireless internet, specifically 5G or 4G LTE, over both fiber and cable internet. The report finds that even while adoption has grown to nearly 12 million subscribers, a 47% increase since last year, customer satisfaction has remained stable in the past two years. J.D. Power Technology, Media & Telecom Intelligence Report June 2025 That's a significant achievement, even if subscribers are still in the 'honeymoon phase,' as Carl Lepper, senior director of the technology, media and telecommunications intelligence practice at J.D. Power, writes in the report. 'I think there's a bit of a halo effect,' Lepper told me. 'I do think there are a lot of people who were early adopters who loved it because it gave them an option they didn't have, and it gave them a price point they didn't have before.' That echoes the thoughts of a former CNET colleague, Rick Broida, who tested T-Mobile's 5G home internet service in 2021 and concluded, 'Imperfection is a lot more tolerable when you're paying less than half what you were before.' Locating local internet providers As more consumers sign up for 5G internet, the fact that the 5G home internet services continue to receive high marks is impressive. The American Customer Satisfaction Index also affirms customer satisfaction with 5G, with scores for non-fiber providers trending upwards. In contrast, fiber scores remained stagnant, and for the first time, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet tied with AT&T Fiber for first place overall. As an industry, broadband receives pretty low customer satisfaction scores overall, and it's not hard to see why. Everything from navigating confusing marketing lingo, dealing with sales-forward customer service and paying expensive monthly bills makes for a frustrating internet user experience. Plus, if you have an unreliable internet connection, it may not seem like you're getting the most out of your money. A recent CNET survey found that 63% of US adults are paying, on average, $195 more for their internet service than last year. J.D. Power Technology, Media & Telecom Intelligence Report April 2024 As an internet solution for rural communities without the luxury of fiber internet or the infrastructure of cable networks, 5G is an increasingly appealing alternative, especially over DSL, slower fixed wireless internet and satellite internet. Recent FCC data shows that the nation's biggest 5G provider, T-Mobile, covers 64% of households nationwide, and a significant portion of its coverage is rural. 'Is it a better product than fiber? Absolutely not,' Lepper said. 'No one would say it is, but it's hitting all the other buttons just right.' 5G may not always be consistent, but it's getting better J.D. Power uses several metrics to gauge customer satisfaction with broadband, the most notable being the level of trust an internet user has with an ISP. Fixed wireless internet is generally more unreliable than fiber internet since it's more susceptible to congestion and requires proximity to a tower and good weather conditions. However, it has substantially improved over the years. Former CNET writer Eli Blumenthal switched from Spectrum to Verizon 5G and hands-on tested T-Mobile 5G and AT&T Internet Air. While Blumenthal didn't get consistent gigabit speeds with any provider, each connection handled the stress of heavy bandwidth tasks from multiple users just fine. In that vein, I'll note that CNET router expert and broadband writer Joe Supan spent a week testing AT&T Internet Air in his apartment in Seattle and found the speeds sorely lagging -- they barely passed 10Mbps down. Still, while Supan's experience emphasizes the potential inconsistencies of 5G internet, AT&T Internet Air is a preferred alternative to AT&T's legacy DSL network and is much easier to install in rural communities than fiber. Additionally, while fiber providers often emphasize lightning-fast speeds, that speed only gets you so far. Depending on your internet usage and the number of devices in your home, you probably don't need more than 100 or 300Mbps of download speed. Equipment upgrades from T-Mobile 5G Home Internet have allowed the provider to boost speed maximums to 415Mbps down. That's quite an improvement from when T-Mobile 5G Home Internet first debuted in 2021. Broida was one of the earliest adopters of the service, and he saw max speeds of 132Mbps down and a low speed of 6.8Mbps, but those average speeds were still more than fine to get through the work day. In fact, you probably won't be able to tell the difference between 300Mbps of download speed and 1,000Mbps of download speed. What you can pick up on, however, is latency, lag and congestion. The true measure of a good internet connection is it's overall reliability, and if this latest batch of high customer approval ratings for the service suggests anything, it's that 5G has some staying power. What's next for 5G? The promise and convenience of 5G lie in the fact that mobile network operators can use the same technology powering our phones to get us online at home. But that technology has some limitations, like the amount of licensed spectrum, for example. 'There is a finite amount of spectrum,' Alex Roytblat, vice president of worldwide regulatory affairs at the Wi-Fi Alliance, told me in a previous interview. 'It's like real estate.' Major 5G internet providers Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile 5G Home Internet use a mixture of frequency bands, such as millimeter-wave, low-band and midband 5G spectrums, to optimize customer experience. 'The higher in frequency you go, the more challenging it becomes to propagate the signal,' Roytblat said. 'The attenuation of the signal becomes greater as the frequency increases.' Concerns of spectral efficiency, or the limits to what information we can transmit in a communication channel, are also at play in the effectiveness of 5G. In fact, due to 'network capacity,' T-Mobile 5G Home Internet has a waitlist of around 1 million people. After covering the broadband industry for nearly two decades, Lepper is optimistic about how 5G technology will evolve in the hands of today's major mobile network operators. 'I'm always amazed how much control the industry has over the new technology, and what's next is already ready to go,' Lepper said. 'I think 5G has been extremely well-marketed.' Telecoms like Huawei and Bell Canada have successfully tested new technology to improve spectral efficiency. In February, Verizon 5G achieved record-breaking upload speeds of 480Mbps, mainly due to the newly opened 6-GHz band. 'The MNOs [mobile network operators] of the world have such a strong network that is impressive now,' said Lepper. 'When it taps out, will they have the next thing ready to go? Absolutely.'