Best Phone Coverage in Nashville: Cell Service in the Music City

Living in the Music City means a life of sound in this city of storytellers and dreamers. Live music drifts out of almost every restaurant and bar, and the city is full of festivals, music shows, great food, and lots of fun for the whole family. If you currently live in Nashville, you don’t need us to tell you about the city! Living in such a bustling metropolis means plenty of times that an abundance of residents and visitors are utilizing their cell phones simultaneously. If you don’t have the best phone coverage in Nashville, you may run into problems with signal strength and data priority. 

Our research found that Verizon, Visible Wireless, and US Mobile are the top three for best phone coverage in Nashville overall. This article features detailed information on the following: 

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

Phone Coverage in Nashville at a Glance

Lightning-Fast Data Speeds on Major Networks

Looking at the coverage photo above, the great majority of Nashville is evenly covered by each of the three major carriers. This means all of the carriers provide excellent coverage in the city’s area. Each of the big three has colossal networks with tens of thousands of towers and access points throughout the country, making each of their networks cover over 90% of the continental United States. 

In many major cities, like Nashville, each of the three carriers has blanket coverage over the city, but each has its strengths and weaknesses. With some complaints about AT&T’s spotty coverage in the suburbs and unreliable data speeds from T-Mobile, Verizon is our favorite major network in the city. Even though they have problems, both T-Mobile and AT&T will serve you well within the city. To find the best phone coverage in Nashville, we will highlight two Verizon MVNOs in the second and third-place slots to show some affordable plans from companies that use Verizon’s lightning-fast network within the city.  

[Image: Top 3 carriers in City are Verizon, Visible, and US Mobile

Local and National Cell Phone Carriers in Nashville

The top three carriers in Nashville are Verizon, Visible Wireless, and US Mobile. 

While every national carrier covers the city we chose Verizon as our top due to its amazing 5G network and its new MyPlan structure. The major wireless companies own and maintain their own network. This, generally, means you pay more for their plans but receive more data and higher priority on usage. 

Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) like Visible and US 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. Both MVNOs listed use Verizon’s network to provide reliable and speedy coverage at a lower price. 

Let’s take a look at which of these carriers use the network that gives people in Nashville the most coverage.

#1 in Nashville: Verizon Wireless 

Fastest 5G and 4G LTE in Nashville

With its new 5G Ultra Wideband network Verizon is our top pick for the fastest 5G and 4G LTE coverage in Nashville. They have great coverage throughout the city, but the 5G network can only give its strongest signal when you are close to signal towers. Not to worry: even their “slower” 5G network speeds are still unbelievably fast, letting you stream all you want on their network. When you are walking along the banks of the Cumberland River or sitting at one of the many parks that dot its banks, Verizon has you covered. 

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

Verizon cell phone plans, similar to AT&T and T-Mobile, are very expensive. Getting Verizon’s cell phone plan over an MVNO option comes with two major benefits:

• Unlimited high-speed data. You need not worry about how much Netflix you stream on the way to work or check around for WiFi networks whenever you can. With unlimited high-speed data, you can use as much as you want without it getting slowed down. 
• Priority data. MVNO users are the first to have their data slowed when the usage gets too high in an area. Verizon splits its customers into regular and “premium data,” but both have priority over MVNO data users. 

The extra $15 a month from Verizon’s unlimited plan grants users access to a high-speed mobile hotspot, device savings, and premium data. The value of Verizon’s premium data varies based on location and network congestion. Nashville is an area that often has large influxes of visitors, which is the most common reason a network needs to slow down non-premium customers. Verizon’s best cell phone plan hinges on how much you value high-speed 5G data. If you use your phone a lot on mobile networks, then the extra $15 is worthwhile. 

Since Verizon’s cell phone plans are so expensive, we recommend finding ways to start a multi-line plan, be it with friends or family. Even if you only add one more line, you still save $10 a month, which adds up quickly. 

👍 What We Liked

• Optional Add-Ons. One extra piece of why we like Verizon so much comes from their new add-on structure. Each add-on is $10 a month and saves you some money on the service, but you can skip it entirely and stick with the base plan if you want. 
• Family Plan Savings. Verizon’s family plan savings neatly cut the price of their plans. We advise getting family and friends together when you open an account with Verizon. 

👎 What We Didn’t Like

• Price. Verizon is expensive. Their plans provide great service, lightning-fast speeds, and lots of add-ons, but they come at a high price. 
• Customer Service. This is certainly not unique to Verizon, but their customer service only sometimes solves the problems ailing their customers. 

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#2 in Nashville: Visible 

Most Affordable Cell Phone Plans in Nashville

Visible Wireless is the first of our two MVNOs on this list. It uses Verizon’s network and provides something uncommon for MVNOs —  Unlimited high-speed data. While many MVNOs offer “unlimited” plans, many are limited high-speed data allocation followed by unlimited 3G data. 3G data is very slow, making most MVNOs unsuitable for high-data users or those who use more than 50 GBs a month. Visible will keep your data fast and reliable when walking downtown Nashville and listening to music flowing out of restaurants and bars. 

Price: Varies

Plan: Visible Wireless has two wireless plans. Each of them has unlimited high-speed data, an amazing feature of this MVNO. The two Visible Wireless phone plans are as follows:

• $30 per month for Unlimited
• $45 per month for Unlimited plus

Visible Wireless offers two cell phone plans, each with unlimited high-speed data. Visible’s basic unlimited plan has high-speed data on Verizon’s 5G and 4G LTE networks but does not allow users on Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network. The regular MVNO rules apply with Visible’s unlimited plan, where your data will be slowed in times of high traffic in your area. Every MVNO in Nashville has to slow down its users whenever the network is being fully used, and Visible is no exception. While a big influx of people may affect data speeds, users who live a bit outside of the city center report little to no data deprioritization during their time in Nashville. 

Outside of the possibility of slower data, Visible’s two cell phone plans are our favorites from all the MVNOs out there. A single-line cell phone plan with unlimited high-speed data for only $30 a month is exceptional, and there is little to no competition to match this price for single-line unlimited high-speed data. Visible is excellent for high-data users who want an affordable way to get unlimited data each month. As Visible runs on Verizon’s nationwide network, they offer some of the best phone coverage in Nashville, from Midtown to Belmont.

👍 What We Liked

• Mobile hotspot inclusion. Both Visible plans come with mobile hotspots. If you like to tether your devices when out and about, a few GBs of high-speed hotspot is an excellent (and free!) part of their plan. 
• Verizon’s Coverage. Verizon Wireless has great coverage in Nashville, and Visible Wireless, while not receiving extremely high-speed data, still outputs some of the best phone coverage in Nashville.   

👎 What We Didn’t Like

• Slow hotspot speeds. The hotspot is a great addition, the speeds are capped at about 5 Mbps. That’s enough speed for browsing the web, but if you are multi-tasking on your device, you will quickly run into the upper limit of what that speed can do. 
• No family plans. There are no multi-line savings from Visible. Their plan is great on its own, but it starts to fall off the top tier if you compare it to the multi-line plans from some other MVNOs. 

#3 in Nashville: US Mobile

Best Cell Phone Plan Range in Nashville

US Mobile makes it into the top three for the best phone coverage in Nashville because of the wide variety of affordable cell phone plans they offer for users or users who want to work on limiting their data usage throughout the day. It is easy to move from one plan to the next once you have an account with US Mobile, making it a great company if you know you want a limited data plan but are not sure how much data is right for you. US Mobile offers many plans. 

Price: Varies

Plan: US Mobile offers eight total plans, ranging from 500 MBs of data to 100 GBs of data. 

The data received, and price of US Mobile’s data plans are as follows: 

• 500 MB Data, 2,500 talk/text — $5 a month

• (all following plans have unlimited talk and text)

• 2 GB — $12 a month
• 5 GB — $15 a month
• 15 GB — $20 a month
• 25 GB — $25 a month
• 40 GB — $35 a month
• 100 GB — $45 a month
• Shared data — $9 a line + $2 per GB

This plan caters to a lot of customers, letting you choose how much data is right for you. We like Visible a bit more overall because their plans offer unlimited high-speed data, but US Mobile’s 100 GB plan for $45 is still a fantastic deal. Since US Mobile also runs on Verizon’s nationwide network, you can expect spectacular data speeds and network coverage in and around Nashville. US Mobile has spectacular coverage around Belle Meade, Oak Hill, and Madison. 

👍 What We Liked

• High-Data Plans. US Mobile caters to high-data users with their 40 and 100 GB plans. Few MVNOs offer plans with that much high-speed data, meaning high-data users don’t have much of an option. One hundred gigabytes is an amazing plan from US Mobile, and it’s at a great price. 
• Cell Phone Plan Range. From one to one hundred, we love the fact that US Mobile has so many cell phone plans. It has Visible Wireless beat in that department. US Mobile caters to both high and low-data users.  

👎 What We Didn’t Like

• Hotspot is not always included. While the 50 GB hotspot is awesome, it is only a perk on their most expensive plan. 
• Data deprioritization. This is a common problem with MVNOs, but there is always the chance that your data will get slowed way down in times of high usage.

Get to Know Your Local Carrier Options in Nashville

We only included one major wireless carrier in Nashville, but AT&T and T-Mobile both provide great coverage in Nashville. Verizon offers the best phone coverage, but the other major wireless carriers offer good plans and have good new customer deals that may make a switch worthwhile. Verizon’s coverage is fantastic, but there are some bad spots within the city that, mysteriously, always have trouble. If you live in Grassland or Franklin and experience oddly spotty service, there are many other carrier options for consideration. 

T-Mobile happens to have excellent coverage in Grassland, and the carrier itself and many of its MVNOs provide great alternatives to the three carriers we included in our article. Mint Mobile is our favorite MVNO on T-Mobile’s network. Spearheaded by the media icon Ryan Reynolds, Mint Mobile provides an excellent set of data plans for low-data users. Unfortunately, Mint Mobile’s unlimited plan lacks unlimited high-speed data. On their unlimited plan, you receive 35 GB of high-speed data each month. Mint’s standard pricing and multi-line savings make them very competitive with competing MVNOs in the area. 

AT&T’s network is another great option. The company provides a trio of excellent, if expensive, cell phone plans, and there are many AT&T MVNOs in the area. Our favorite is Cricket Wireless, which does have a cell phone plan with unlimited high-speed data. 

FAQ: Your Questions About Cell Phone Coverage in Nashville, Answered

Who has the best 5G coverage in Nashville, TN?

AT&T and T-Mobile have surpassed Verizon in their 5G coverage in Nashville, but Verizon’s 5G speeds, backed by their rock-solid 4G LTE network, mean they give the best phone coverage in Nashville overall. 

Does Verizon have service in Nashville?

Verizon offers excellent service in Nashville. Their 5G and 4G LTE networks blanket the city in lightning-fast data speeds. 

Does Verizon Have 5G in Nashville?

Yes! Verizon has impressive 5G coverage in Nashville. 

Which phone carrier gets the best signal?

Of the three major cell phone providers, Verizon’s networks have the best coverage throughout the United States, with 70% 4G LTE coverage and 12% 5G coverage nationwide. While their 5G network only covers 12% of the country, it services around 70% of the population. 

TLDR; Verizon is your best bet for fast phone coverage in Nashville

Use really.com to compare! 

Nashville is a city that has a lot going on, and Verizon’s network ensures you can connect to the internet no matter where you are in the city and no matter how busy it is. Their MVNOs leverage that network to provide the same high-quality data at spectacular prices. If you want more info about plans available in Nashville, you can compare carriers at Really.com to decide which phone carrier is best for you. 

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