Michigan's Upper Peninsula is the fifteen counties north of the Straits of Mackinac: Alger, Baraga, Chippewa, Delta, Dickinson, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Keweenaw, Luce, Mackinac, Marquette, Menominee, Ontonagon and Schoolcraft. The FCC publishes no figure for the Upper Peninsula as a whole, but it publishes every carrier's coverage for each of those counties, and this guide sets them side by side.
Verizon is the clear outdoor leader in 8 of the 15 counties, AT&T in 1, and in 6 no carrier clearly leads once the county's water is allowed for, on the carriers' FCC filings as of December 31, 2025. In 8 of the 9 counties with a leader, the second carrier is close behind: the lead is over the weakest carrier, not over both.
We do not add the counties up into one Upper Peninsula figure. They differ too much in size, and in how much of each is Lake Superior, Lake Michigan or Lake Huron, for a total to mean anything.
Every Upper Peninsula county, outdoors
Each carrier's share of the county's area where it reports 4G LTE or 5G to a phone outdoors, the county's water share, and the outdoor leader under the site's water rule. Of 15 counties, Verizon leads in 8, AT&T leads in 1 and T-Mobile leads in none, and 6 have no clear leader outdoors.
| County | 4G, any carrier | AT&T | T-Mobile | Verizon | Water | Outdoor leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alger County, MI | 39.1% | 10.5% | 3% | 35% | 81.9% | No clear leader on land (81.9% water) |
| Baraga County, MI | 71% | 41.7% | 32.9% | 66.1% | 16% | Verizon |
| Chippewa County, MI | 71% | 41% | 18.2% | 53.3% | 42.2% | No clear leader on land (42.2% water) |
| Delta County, MI | 85.2% | 33% | 20.3% | 78.2% | 41.2% | Verizon (AT&T close behind) |
| Dickinson County, MI | 80.3% | 66.1% | 40.8% | 66% | 2% | AT&T (Verizon close behind) |
| Gogebic County, MI | 71.1% | 32.6% | 19.2% | 61.1% | 25.4% | Verizon (AT&T close behind) |
| Houghton County, MI | 78.7% | 40.1% | 28.5% | 71.6% | 32.8% | Verizon (AT&T close behind) |
| Iron County, MI | 61.1% | 45.1% | 28.6% | 49.8% | 3.7% | Verizon (AT&T close behind) |
| Keweenaw County, MI | 59.9% | 3.6% | 2.1% | 57.6% | 90.9% | No clear leader on land (90.9% water) |
| Luce County, MI | 44% | 29.3% | 14.5% | 33.2% | 53% | No clear leader on land (53% water) |
| Mackinac County, MI | 92.7% | 38.1% | 14% | 84.8% | 51.4% | Verizon (AT&T close behind) |
| Marquette County, MI | 79.5% | 34.1% | 19.8% | 69.5% | 47.2% | No clear leader on land (47.2% water) |
| Menominee County, MI | 88.4% | 46.9% | 45% | 72.5% | 22% | Verizon (AT&T close behind) |
| Ontonagon County, MI | 56.4% | 16% | 7.9% | 50.7% | 65% | No clear leader on land (65% water) |
| Schoolcraft County, MI | 84% | 42.5% | 14.8% | 69.1% | 37.8% | Verizon (AT&T close behind) |
Shares of the county's total area, water included. A leader is named only when it is 5+ points ahead of the weakest carrier after allowing for the county's water; "close behind" means the runner-up's gap is no bigger than the water share plus 5 points, so it could be water rather than land. Source: FCC National Broadband Map, carrier filings as of December 31, 2025. Share of area where each carrier reports 4G LTE or 5G to a phone outdoors. Carrier-reported, not measured.
Head to head
The same fifteen counties, one pair of carriers at a time. A county counts for a carrier only when its lead over the other beats the county's water share by 5 points.
Verizon vs AT&T: Verizon leads in 1, AT&T in 0, and 14 are too close to call.
Verizon vs T-Mobile: Verizon leads in 9, T-Mobile in 0, and 6 are too close to call.
AT&T vs T-Mobile: AT&T leads in 2, T-Mobile in 0, and 13 are too close to call.
| Matchup | First carrier leads | Second carrier leads | Too close to call |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verizon vs AT&T | 1 | 0 | 14 |
| Verizon vs T-Mobile | 9 | 0 | 6 |
| AT&T vs T-Mobile | 2 | 0 | 13 |
Outdoor figures, the 15 Upper Peninsula counties. Source: FCC National Broadband Map, carrier filings as of December 31, 2025. Share of area where each carrier reports 4G LTE or 5G to a phone outdoors. Carrier-reported, not measured.
Why so many counties have no clear leader
The FCC measures a county's area including its water, and the Upper Peninsula's counties reach far into the Great Lakes: water is 2% to 90.9% of their area, and at least a quarter in 11 of the 15. Some carriers file coverage out over the lakes and some stop at the shore, so a carrier can show a much higher share without covering any more land.
Where the gap between the carriers is no bigger than the water share, the table says there is no clear leader on land, and shows the figures instead of guessing. That is the same rule every page on this site uses.
In a moving car
The FCC's second map is for a phone in a moving vehicle, and in the Upper Peninsula it is far smaller than the outdoor one. In 14 of the 15 counties even the best carrier reports in-car coverage over less than 25% of the county's area. Of 15 counties, AT&T leads in 1, T-Mobile leads in none and Verizon leads in none, and 14 have no clear in-car leader.
| County | AT&T, in a car | T-Mobile, in a car | Verizon, in a car | In-car leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alger County, MI | 3.2% | 0.6% | 4.1% | Low from all three |
| Baraga County, MI | 12.6% | 7.8% | 12.4% | Low from all three |
| Chippewa County, MI | 16.4% | 4.4% | 6.9% | Low from all three |
| Delta County, MI | 9.7% | 5% | 16.6% | Low from all three |
| Dickinson County, MI | 29% | 10.7% | 13.9% | AT&T |
| Gogebic County, MI | 10.1% | 4.1% | 6% | Low from all three |
| Houghton County, MI | 18.5% | 8.4% | 11.7% | Low from all three |
| Iron County, MI | 12.8% | 5.3% | 6.7% | Low from all three |
| Keweenaw County, MI | 1.7% | 0.3% | 4.1% | Low from all three |
| Luce County, MI | 10.4% | 3.1% | 5.3% | Low from all three |
| Mackinac County, MI | 14.5% | 2.6% | 17.3% | Low from all three |
| Marquette County, MI | 12.7% | 4.7% | 9.7% | Low from all three |
| Menominee County, MI | 15.1% | 11.3% | 16.8% | Low from all three |
| Ontonagon County, MI | 4.6% | 1.8% | 4% | Low from all three |
| Schoolcraft County, MI | 12.6% | 2.5% | 9.8% | Low from all three |
Source: FCC National Broadband Map, carrier filings as of December 31, 2025. Share of area where each carrier reports 4G LTE or 5G to a phone outdoors. Carrier-reported, not measured.
5G in the Upper Peninsula
All carriers combined, since the FCC's county summaries do not split 5G by carrier. These are shares of the county's total area, water included.
| County | 5G 7/1 Mbps | 5G 35/3 Mbps | 4G LTE, any carrier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alger County, MI | 10.5% | 5.9% | 39.1% |
| Baraga County, MI | 42.3% | 20.8% | 71% |
| Chippewa County, MI | 30.4% | 22.1% | 71% |
| Delta County, MI | 33.4% | 20.3% | 85.2% |
| Dickinson County, MI | 56.5% | 32.8% | 80.3% |
| Gogebic County, MI | 23.2% | 13.7% | 71.1% |
| Houghton County, MI | 35.1% | 20.5% | 78.7% |
| Iron County, MI | 31.9% | 17% | 61.1% |
| Keweenaw County, MI | 3.3% | 1.7% | 59.9% |
| Luce County, MI | 18.9% | 12.4% | 44% |
| Mackinac County, MI | 31.7% | 20.6% | 92.7% |
| Marquette County, MI | 34.6% | 16.1% | 79.5% |
| Menominee County, MI | 46.5% | 28.4% | 88.4% |
| Ontonagon County, MI | 15% | 7.2% | 56.4% |
| Schoolcraft County, MI | 32.6% | 19.8% | 84% |
Source: FCC National Broadband Map, carrier filings as of December 31, 2025. Share of area where each carrier reports 4G LTE or 5G to a phone outdoors. Carrier-reported, not measured.
Michigan as a whole
For comparison, across the whole state (both peninsulas) the carriers report AT&T 49.7%, T-Mobile 36.3% and Verizon 68% of Michigan's area outdoors, and the state result is: No clear leader on land (41.5% water). The Michigan page has the state's largest cities, and the Midwest guide compares Michigan with its neighbors.
| Page | What it shows | |
|---|---|---|
| Michigan coverage | The state's figures and its largest cities | View → |
| Best cell coverage in the Midwest | Michigan against the other eleven Midwest states | View → |
| FCC National Broadband Map | Whether each carrier filed coverage at one address, outdoors and in a vehicle | Visit → |
| Verizon coverage map | Verizon's own map, in its own format | Visit → |
| AT&T coverage map | AT&T's own map, in its own format | Visit → |
| T-Mobile coverage map | T-Mobile's own map, in its own format | Visit → |
Carrier and FCC maps open on their own sites.