AT&T MVNO QCI Levels: Cricket vs US Mobile Dark Star

AT&T MVNO QCI levels boil down to where your traffic sits in the queue when an AT&T cell is full: most wholesale and prepaid brands land in QCI 9 (deprioritized best-effort), while QCI 8 is the mid-tier “premium data” lane AT&T reserves for upper retail SKUs and a handful of MVNOs. US Mobile Dark Star is unusual because it publishes the split—QCI 8 on Unlimited Premium, QCI 9 on Unlimited Starter—whereas Cricket Wireless and Consumer Cellular only promise outcomes in FCC labels (“may temporarily slow when the network is busy”) without printing QCI on your bill.

Stat: On 3GPP non-GBR bearers, QCI 8 uses priority level 8 (300 ms packet delay budget) versus QCI 9 at level 9 (300 ms, lower scheduling weight)—so 8 is ahead of 9 when the scheduler is stressed. Source: ETSI TS 123.203, accessed May 22, 2026.

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Original research: AT&T-hosted MVNO QCI evidence matrix

We compiled the table below on May 22, 2026 from primary disclosures (where they exist), plus labeled field inference. Method: each row scored 0–2 on (a) carrier-published QCI integer, (b) official congestion language, (c) independent QCI reports, (d) plan price transparency on the brand’s site; rows with Published outrank Inference.

Brand / plan anchor (May 2026)	Host	QoS class (evidence tag)	Official congestion lever	Editorial priority score (0–10)	Primary source
US Mobile Dark Star — Unlimited Premium	AT&T	Published: QCI 8	Higher QoS tier per US Mobile QCI explainer	9	US Mobile QCI article
US Mobile Dark Star — Unlimited Starter	AT&T	Published: QCI 9	Baseline tier; optional QCI 8 add-on on some flex SKUs	6	US Mobile QCI article
Cricket Supreme Unlimited™	AT&T	Inference: QCI 8	Plan card: “Unlimited high-speed data”; Broadband Facts network management	7	Cricket plans; Coverage Critic
Cricket Select / Smart Unlimited™	AT&T	Inference: QCI 9	“May temporarily slow data speeds if the network is busy” on labels (May 22, 2026)	5	Cricket plans
Cricket Sensible™ 10GB	AT&T	Inference: QCI 8 (fixed-data bucket) + usage throttle at 10 GB	128 Kbps after allowance; busy-network slowdown clause	4	Cricket plans
Consumer Cellular — smartphone unlimited (AT&T path)	AT&T	Inference: QCI 8	Host-specific Broadband Facts; dual-network assignment	6	Consumer Cellular plans; Broadband Map
AT&T Unlimited Starter SL (retail anchor)	AT&T	Inference: QCI 9	Postpaid entry unlimited; reference for “below premium”	5	Coverage Critic
AT&T Elite / Premium 2.0 (retail anchor)	AT&T	Inference: QCI 8	Upper postpaid tier reference	8	Coverage Critic

Dataset (Schema.org): name AT&T-hosted MVNO QCI evidence matrix — Cricket, Consumer Cellular, US Mobile Dark Star; datePublished 2026-05-22; license CC BY 4.0; URL fragment #priority-matrix.

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AT&T's QCI 8 vs QCI 9 ladder (host context)

QoS Class Identifier (QCI) is the LTE-era label the radio scheduler uses to decide which packets move first when airtime is scarce. On AT&T's consumer network, think in three practical buckets as of May 2026:

QCI bucket	Who usually lands here (AT&T)	What changes under congestion
QCI 7	AT&T Turbo add-on, select business premium, US Mobile Dark Star VIP beta (not general retail)	Strongest consumer-adjacent scheduling when provisioned
QCI 8	AT&T Elite/Premium-class postpaid, inferred Cricket upper unlimited, inferred Consumer Cellular on AT&T, US Mobile Dark Star Premium (published)	Fewer stalls vs QCI 9 on the same cell
QCI 9	AT&T Unlimited Starter, inferred Cricket Select/Smart, US Mobile Dark Star Starter (published), many budget MVNOs	First to feel the queue when the site is maxed

FirstNet and other public-safety classes can preempt ordinary retail traffic entirely—that is a separate lane from MVNO shopping.

Where I am less sure: exact 5G SA 5QI labels on every NSA combo—Android engineering screens still often show LTE QCI for AT&T paths in early 2026, but SA-only attach may expose different fields. I have not validated every 2026 Samsung and Pixel build identically.

For the cross-carrier vocabulary, start with MVNO QCI levels and deprioritization explained and the wider lookup MVNO QCI master list.

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US Mobile Dark Star: the published AT&T QCI map

US Mobile is the clearest case in this comparison because it names classes. Per US Mobile's QCI explainer (2025 refresh, verified May 22, 2026):

Dark Star SKU	Published QCI	Congestion expectation
Unlimited Premium	8	Higher scheduling weight vs Starter when the AT&T site is busy
Unlimited Starter	9	Baseline wholesale lane; upgrade path is Premium tier or add-ons where offered
Unlimited Flex / By the Gig	9 (optional 8 add-on)	Pool lines inherit SKU + network pairing—check cart

US Mobile also warns that QCI 8 on Dark Star can outperform QCI 7 on its T-Mobile Light Speed network during rush hour because host capacity matters as much as the integer. That is why this article pairs with US Mobile Dark Star QCI 8 vs QCI 9: real-world test and US Mobile QCI levels explained (Warp / Light Speed / Dark Star)—mechanics versus measurement.

“QCI 8 on Warp or Dark Star will usually outperform QCI 7 on Light Speed during busy hours. The network matters as much as the number.”

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Cricket Wireless: policy-first, QCI-second

Cricket is AT&T's house prepaid brand. It does not publish QCI on plan pages. What it does publish, in FCC Broadband Facts labels on cricketwireless.com/cell-phone-plans (checked May 22, 2026):

Plan (retail name)	1-line AutoPay price	Congestion-related disclosure on label
Select Unlimited™	$40/mo	“Cricket may temporarily slow data speeds if the network is busy”
Smart Unlimited™	$50/mo	Same busy-network slowdown language
Supreme Unlimited™	$60/mo	Markets “Unlimited high-speed data” on the plan card; still read full Broadband Facts
Sensible™ 10GB	$35/mo	128 Kbps after 10 GB allowance plus busy-network slowdown clause

Inference layer: Coverage Critic (updated May 2026) and Broadband Map (updated May 11, 2026) map legacy Cricket Core-class entry unlimited to QCI 9 and upper Cricket unlimited (historically “More,” now Supreme-tier positioning) to QCI 8. Cricket's marketing names changed; do not port based on a 2023 forum screenshot—match your current SKU to today's label.

Pros / cons — Cricket on AT&T

Pros	Cons
Taxes and fees included in advertised prices (Select $40, Supreme $60, May 2026)	No public QCI certificate—busy-network language on most unlimited
Same AT&T 5G map as postpaid for coverage shopping	Upper tier still not identical to AT&T Elite postpaid (Turbo / QCI 7 paths)
Retail stores and multi-line discounts (4 for $100 Select promo on site)	Video often SD-limited per plan disclosures
Supreme adds 50 GB hotspot and Mexico/Canada usage	Inference-based QCI 8 on Supreme—treat as hypothesis until you field-test

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Consumer Cellular: confirm the host before you debate QCI

Consumer Cellular sells to AARP-skewing, light-use households and can place lines on AT&T or T-Mobile depending on assignment and device. That means “Consumer Cellular QCI” is not one number:

• On an AT&T host, secondary trackers commonly infer QCI 8 for smartphone data (Coverage Critic, Broadband Map).
• On a T-Mobile host, an AT&T QCI table is the wrong framework entirely—see Best T-Mobile MVNOs in 2026.

Anecdotally, dual-SIM retirees who buy Consumer Cellular for $55/mo unlimited but never check the network indicator blame “AT&T deprioritization” when the line was actually riding T-Mobile in their ZIP. Your mileage will vary depending on which host wins the coverage algorithm for your address.

Methodology note: We did not run a fresh Consumer Cellular engineering-mode sweep in May 2026 for this article; AT&T-path QCI 8 here is inference-weighted, not extracted from Consumer Cellular PDFs naming QCI.

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Head-to-head: Cricket vs US Mobile Dark Star (AT&T QCI)

Dimension	Cricket Supreme Unlimited™	US Mobile Dark Star Unlimited Premium
QCI evidence	Inference QCI 8	Published QCI 8
Entry unlimited QCI story	Select/Smart → inference QCI 9 + busy-network clause	Starter → published QCI 9
1-line price (May 22, 2026)	$60/mo taxes-in (AutoPay)	Check usmobile.com/plans (varies by pool/promo)
Transparency	Broadband Facts slowdown language	Public QCI blog + plan tier
Best for	Shoppers who want AT&T prepaid with retail support	Shoppers who want known QoS class on AT&T without AT&T postpaid

Decision flow (AT&T MVNO QCI)

Start: Need AT&T coverage with better congestion behavior?
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  +-- Must have carrier-published QCI? --> US Mobile Dark Star Unlimited Premium (QCI 8)
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  +-- Prefer taxes-in Cricket pricing + stores? --> Cricket Supreme (test; infer QCI 8)
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  +-- Light use, unsure host? --> Consumer Cellular ONLY after confirming AT&T vs T-Mobile
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  +-- Rarely hit busy cells? --> Cricket Select or US Mobile Starter (QCI 9) saves cash
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  +-- Still slow off-peak? --> Stop blaming QCI; fix coverage/R bands (see troubleshooting hub)

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Methodology: how we compare AT&T MVNO QCI without insider dashboards

Declared inline: We do not have AT&T PCRF read access. This att mvno qci levels guide combines:

1. Primary retail docs — US Mobile QCI article; Cricket Broadband Facts (May 22, 2026); Consumer Cellular plan center URLs.
2. Labeled inference — Coverage Critic and Broadband Map where carriers stay silent.
3. On-site test protocols — Dark Star QCI 8 vs 9 field test for isolating congestion effects.

Fair A/B rules: same handset, same PCI where possible, peak window plus off-peak control, triplicate runs, and separate policy limits (Cricket SD video, Sensible 128 Kbps cap) from QoS queueing.

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Worked example: Marcus, Braves fan in Atlanta

Marcus keeps Cricket Select Unlimited ($40/mo, taxes-in, May 2026) for his teenager and runs his own line on US Mobile Dark Star Unlimited Premium (published QCI 8). Leaving Truist Park after a Friday night game (April–May 2026 samples, N=6 exit tests), Marcus's Premium line held 28–52 Mbps downstream long enough to upload 4K clips to cloud storage, while the Select line on the same stairwell showed 3–11 Mbps with speed-test retry spikes. Marcus is not reading QCI in engineering mode—he is observing capacity-limited behavior consistent with 8 vs 9 reports. Anecdotally, Marcus's Cricket line still beats his brother's Verizon Visible base on the same walk in two of six nights—host capacity still matters.

Worked example: Elena, snowbird on Consumer Cellular

Elena, 68, in Fort Myers uses Consumer Cellular because AARP marketing promised simplicity. Her account indicator shows AT&T at home but T-Mobile at her daughter's house in Tampa after a tower optimization swap. Elena blamed “Cricket-style deprioritization” on AT&T when March 2026 slowdowns were actually T-Mobile host congestion on a QCI 7-class inference path—not AT&T QCI 9. After confirming the host in the app, Elena compared Broadband Facts for each network and stopped shopping AT&T MVNO QCI tables until she pinned the active host.

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Steel-man: why Cricket Select might still beat US Mobile Premium

Cricket advocates correctly point to all-in pricing and no eSIM gymnastics. As of May 22, 2026, Select Unlimited is $40/mo with taxes included versus a US Mobile Premium line that may cost more once pools, taxes, and device promos settle. If Elena's life is suburban off-peak browsing, paying for published QCI 8 is insurance she will never cash in. Cricket also offers 4 for $100 Select pricing on the public site—family economics can swamp per-line QoS. The steel-man conclusion: Cricket wins the spreadsheet; US Mobile wins the provable queue position.

Rebuttal: If your US routine includes rush-hour MARTA, Hartsfield uploads, or any recurring busy-sector pain, inference and published maps both say QCI 9 lines suffer first. That is when US Mobile Premium or Cricket Supreme is rational—not because QCI 8 raises peak speed on an empty tower, but because it defends throughput when everyone else is refreshing.

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Working checklist (AT&T MVNO QCI)

1. Decide whether pain is congestion or coverage (MVNO data slow troubleshooting).
2. If you need a number on paper, pick US Mobile Dark Star Premium; if you need taxes-in Cricket, pick Supreme and test.
3. On Consumer Cellular, confirm AT&T vs T-Mobile before reading any AT&T QCI chart.
4. Read Cricket Broadband Facts for “network is busy” vs hard caps (Sensible 128 Kbps).
5. Run peak-hour A/B using the Dark Star 8 vs 9 protocol.
6. Anchor host-network shopping with Best AT&T MVNOs in 2026.

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Verdict

For att mvno qci levels searches in May 2026, the actionable split is:

• Choose US Mobile Dark Star Unlimited Premium if you want carrier-published QCI 8 on AT&T and can live with US Mobile's app-first support model.
• Choose Cricket Supreme Unlimited™ if you want AT&T's house brand, taxes-in pricing, and retail help—accepting that QCI 8 here is inference, not a printed guarantee.
• Choose Cricket Select or US Mobile Starter only when monthly cash matters more than rush-hour throughput—and do not expect postpaid-first behavior.
• On Consumer Cellular, run host detection first; an AT&T QCI debate is irrelevant on a T-Mobile-assigned line.

I would not pay Supreme or Premium prices for a line that only struggles in one basement conference room—that is coverage. I would pay for QCI 8 when the same ZIP code collapses every Friday at 6 PM on a Starter or Select line and your work uploads cannot wait.

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Disclaimer

Network Scrutiny does not have insider visibility into live AT&T or MVNO provisioning. Inferred QCI values can change with wholesale contracts. Cricket plan names and Broadband Facts were checked May 22, 2026; US Mobile QCI mapping follows its 2025 public article—confirm usmobile.com/plans before you port. Nothing here is legal or professional RF engineering advice.