Cricket Wireless coverage map (5G)
Cricket Wireless is AT&T's wholly owned prepaid brand and runs on AT&T's network. Like Metro to T-Mobile and Visible to Verizon, Cricket is essentially a different storefront for the same towers.
Coverage characteristics
Cricket inherits AT&T's nationwide LTE and AT&T's 5G build-out. Strong across the South and Texas, competitive nationwide, and the same regional weaknesses as AT&T proper (Mountain West small towns, parts of the Pacific Northwest).
Priority and deprioritization
Cricket's priority on the AT&T network depends on plan. The lowest tiers are deprioritized; the higher tiers (Unlimited Plus and the More plan) carry effectively postpaid-equivalent QCI. AT&T's carrier-owned MVNOs in general get better treatment than third-party AT&T MVNOs like H2O.
5G availability
Cricket plans now include 5G access, including AT&T's 5G+ (C-band and mmWave) on the higher unlimited tiers. The lowest-cost Cricket plans typically only include nationwide low-band 5G, not 5G+.
Best for
- Prepaid buyers who want retail support — Cricket has thousands of dedicated stores plus availability in big-box electronics stores.
- Single-line buyers in AT&T-strong regions who want lower pricing than AT&T postpaid.
- Multi-line families — Cricket's 4-line plan undercuts AT&T's comparable postpaid offer.
Look elsewhere if
- You need international roaming — AT&T postpaid is the better option here.
- You want gigabit speeds on cellular — Cricket's mmWave inclusion lags behind AT&T postpaid even on the top plans.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Cricket Wireless have 5G coverage?
Yes. Cricket Wireless rides the AT&T network, which offers 5G nationwide. There are three flavors: low-band 5G (broad reach, modest speeds), mid-band 5G (the workhorse — fast over a meaningful area), and mmWave 5G (gigabit speeds in dense urban cores). AT&T's premium 5G is marketed as 5G+ (mmWave only) on top of plain 5G (low- + mid-band).
- What 5G bands does Cricket Wireless support?
On the AT&T network, the relevant fast-5G band is C-band (n77). Most modern phones (iPhone 12+, Pixel 6+, Galaxy S22+) support these bands and the matching carrier aggregation profiles. Coverage at any specific address depends on whether your local cell tower has the relevant band lit up — see the map above for county-level estimate.
- How do I check Cricket Wireless coverage at my address?
Enter your ZIP in the search box on this page to see strong/fair/poor/none classification for Cricket Wireless's underlying AT&T network at the county-and-ZIP level. Our data comes from the FCC's public Broadband Data Collection — the same dataset Google Maps and most other coverage tools rely on. For street-level certainty, visit Cricket Wireless's own coverage tool.
- Is Cricket Wireless coverage the same as AT&T's?
Geographically yes — Cricket Wireless rides AT&T's towers, fiber backhaul, and spectrum, so where AT&T has signal, Cricket Wireless has signal. The difference is in deprioritization: during peak congestion, MVNO traffic is served at lower priority than AT&T's own postpaid customers. In normal everyday use this is invisible; at packed venues and rush-hour congestion it can mean slower speeds for MVNO customers.
- Does Cricket Wireless work in rural areas?
Rural coverage matches the AT&T network. Verizon historically has the strongest rural reach (lowest-band coverage in mountain hollows and farm country); T-Mobile has improved rural coverage post-merger but has more gaps in remote areas; AT&T is competitive in the South and Mountain West. For long rural drives, low-band 5G or 4G LTE is what you actually use; mid-band 5G is mostly an urban/suburban story.
- Why does my phone show 5G but speeds feel slow on Cricket Wireless?
The 5G icon doesn't guarantee fast 5G. On Cricket Wireless, plain "5G" usually means low-band coverage — broad reach but speeds closer to LTE. The premium tier (5G+ (mmWave only) on top of plain 5G (low- + mid-band)) is what gives you the 200–700 Mbps experience that 5G marketing promises. If you're consistently on plain "5G" without the premium label, you're in a coverage area that hasn't had the faster band lit up yet.