Sometimes getting beat to market isn’t a bad thing. Though AT&T was a full year behind Verizon Wireless in deploying its LTE systems, it’s now routinely outscoring Verizon on multiple network speed and performance tests. Last spring, RootMetrics clocked AT&T’s average LTE network speeds a full 4.3 Mbps faster than Verizon’s. PCMag’s recent extensive nationwide tests crowned AT&T speed king in every region of the U.S., though it found Verizon’s 4G network more reliable and more ubiquitous. PCWorld’s own 13-city test reached similar conclusions on 4G download speeds, though it found Verizon’s network was superior on the upload. Part of the explanation lies in congestion. Verizon’s network is hardly brimming over – it’s maintaining average speeds in excess of 10 Mbps – but it has more LTE devices on its network by virtue of having sold them for far longer.