But Tello’s latency was higher overall—not enough to affect Royal Match play, but perhaps more demanding. Download speeds were also slow for Tello in any region, but not across the board.
At home, my 5G mobile data speeds average around 800 to 900 megabits per second on T-Mobile. For the Tello phone, it was about 30 percent slower. But both of these speeds are in 5G territory. It’s also a full order of magnitude faster than you might need for 4K video. I had no problem streaming my usual dose of Josh Johnson comedy, in case you were wondering.
Surprisingly, the download speed was faster on the Motorola Razr using Tello than the older iPhone using T-Mobile. After consulting with my colleague Julian Chokkattuwho has covered mobile development over the years, I’m likely to chalk this up to improved modem performance with the latest Motorola, not Tello’s faster upload secret port.
It was only in areas with poor or 4G-only reception that I started to see real limitations in the Tello’s performance. In the suburbs of Portland near the forest edge in the northwest, Tello got fewer bars than T-Mobile—and the data arrived at speeds too slow to bother me. Several speed tests are timed. Downloads also began to crawl in the lower reaches of reception compared to my T-Mobile phones, sometimes dropping to only a quarter of T-Mobile’s network speed.
That is to say: Most of the time, Tello worked like T-Mobile. Except for the lost time when it didn’t. The times when the Tello’s performance is worst are usually the times when you demand the most from your phone: clinging to a lost reception bar, or streaming video while riding the train.
When Would I Want Tello Instead of T-Mobile?
Whether the trade-off is worth it will depend on what kind of phone user you are. Family discounts are best for older carriers. Frequent international travelers should also stick to the big boys. Internationally roaming will cost and Tello, as it will send text to and from many countries outside of Latin America and Europe. Traveling is also a time when you are most likely to use a lot of data outside of Wi-Fi networks.
Another big financial difference is how often you upgrade your phone. With Tello, you’re on your own when it comes to buying a device, while T-Mobile and other postpaid plans keep you close to their premium plans by offering you the latest and greatest cheap phones at deep discounts.
