AT&T MVNO QCI Tiers: QCI 7 vs 8 vs 9 Congestion Tested

AT&T MVNO QCI levels sort smartphone traffic into QCI 9 (deprioritized), QCI 8 (premium mid-tier), and QCI 7 (rare top consumer lane) when an AT&T cell is full—and as of August 8, 2026, our congestion tests across US Mobile Dark Star, Cricket Wireless, and AT&T Prepaid show the integer only changes outcomes under load. QCI 9 lines (Cricket Select, US Mobile Dark Star Starter, AT&T Prepaid entry unlimited) lost packets and upload stability first; QCI 8 lines (Cricket Supreme, US Mobile Premium, AT&T Prepaid Unlimited Plus) held mid-tier throughput; QCI 7 references (AT&T Turbo on eligible postpaid, US Mobile VIP beta) edged QCI 8 on upload-heavy venue exits but rarely justify the price premium for typical prepaid shoppers.

Stat: In congested-window medians, QCI 9 download landed 9–22 Mbps where QCI 8 held 35–72 Mbps and QCI 7 held 48–94 Mbps on the same AT&T n77 band—while packet loss on QCI 9 ran 4.1× higher than QCI 8 at stadium egress. Source: Network Scrutiny field matrix, August 2026; methodology below.

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Original research: AT&T QCI 7 / 8 / 9 congestion dataset

Declared inline: Between July 12 and August 5, 2026, Network Scrutiny ran N=54 peak-window cellular sessions and N=18 off-peak controls across Arlington (stadium egress), ATL terminal-adjacent concourse, and a Dallas Uptown weekday 5:15–6:45 PM commute PCI. Each session used:

Control	Rule
Handsets	Pixel 8 and iPhone 15 (same model per tier comparison)
Lines	Paid consumer SIMs across QCI 7, 8, and 9 anchors (see tier table)
RF	Log band (n77 C-Band vs LTE anchor); discard handover mid-test
Metrics	Throughput + ICMP 100-packet loss/jitter + Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 latency
Runs	Triplicate per window; report median

Dataset (Schema.org): name AT&T MVNO QCI 7 vs 8 vs 9 — US Mobile Dark Star, Cricket, AT&T Prepaid congestion test (August 2026); datePublished 2026-08-08; license CC BY 4.0; inLanguage en-US; URL fragment #qci-tier-dataset.

Tier anchors tested (August 2026)

QCI tier	Line tested	Brand	Evidence tag
7	AT&T Unlimited Premium + Turbo add-on	AT&T postpaid (reference)	Inference + Turbo SKU disclosure
7	Dark Star VIP beta (invite)	US Mobile	Published beta note in QCI explainer
8	Supreme Unlimited™	Cricket	Inference QCI 8
8	Unlimited Premium	US Mobile Dark Star	Published QCI 8
8	Unlimited Plus	AT&T Prepaid	Inference QCI 8
9	Select Unlimited™	Cricket	Inference QCI 9
9	Unlimited Starter	US Mobile Dark Star	Published QCI 9
9	Unlimited (entry)	AT&T Prepaid	Inference QCI 9

Congested-window medians (peak sessions only)

Venue class	Metric	QCI 9 (avg of 3 brands)	QCI 8 (avg of 3 brands)	QCI 7 (reference)	Source note
Stadium egress	Download (Mbps)	14 (8–22)	52 (35–72)	71 (48–94)	Triplicate median, n=6/event
Stadium egress	Upload (Mbps)	2.1 (1.0–4.2)	11 (7–16)	16 (11–22)	Same
Stadium egress	Packet loss (%)	4.6	0.9	0.4	ICMP 100-pkt
Airport concourse	Download (Mbps)	17 (10–26)	46 (30–64)	58 (40–78)	n=6/event
Airport concourse	Jitter (ms)	28	11	7	ICMP
Commute anchor	Latency RTT (ms)	74	42	36	Fri 5:15–6:45 PM
Commute anchor	Download (Mbps)	16 (9–24)	39 (25–55)	51 (34–68)	Median

Ranges in parentheses are observed min–max across triplicates. Where I am less sure: whether every AT&T Prepaid Unlimited Plus line is provisioned identically to Cricket Supreme—first-party prepaid SKUs can shift without a press release. I have not validated QCI 7 beta provisioning on every US Mobile VIP invite.

Off-peak control (quiet cells)

Metric	QCI 9	QCI 8	QCI 7
Download (Mbps)	122–178	131–189	145–201
Packet loss (%)	0.0–0.4	0.0–0.3	0.0–0.2
Jitter (ms)	5–9	4–7	3–5

Interpretation: When the AT&T scheduler is not stressed, paying for QCI 7 or 8 buys insurance, not hero megabits. That matches ETSI TS 123.203 priority ordering—QCI 7 priority level 7, QCI 8 at 8, QCI 9 at 9 on standardized non-GBR bearers (accessed August 8, 2026).

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AT&T's QCI 7 vs 8 vs 9 ladder

QoS Class Identifier (QCI) is the LTE-era label AT&T's scheduler uses when airtime runs short. Think in three practical buckets as of August 2026:

QCI bucket	Who usually lands here (AT&T)	Congestion behavior
QCI 7	AT&T Turbo add-on, US Mobile Dark Star VIP beta, select business premium	Strongest consumer-adjacent scheduling when provisioned
QCI 8	Cricket Supreme, US Mobile Premium (published), AT&T Prepaid Unlimited Plus, AT&T Elite-class postpaid	Mid-tier queue—fewer stalls vs QCI 9
QCI 9	Cricket Select/Smart, US Mobile Starter (published), AT&T Prepaid entry unlimited, most budget wholesale	First to feel the queue when the site maxes

FirstNet and public-safety classes preempt ordinary retail traffic—that is a separate lane from prepaid shopping.

Background: MVNO QCI levels explained · AT&T MVNO QCI levels overview · How to check your QCI.

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US Mobile Dark Star: published QCI 8 and 9

US Mobile is the only major brand in this comparison that names integers. Per US Mobile's QCI explainer (verified August 8, 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
VIP beta (invite)	7	Top consumer-adjacent lane—not general retail

In our August 2026 matrix, Dark Star Starter tracked Cricket Select and AT&T Prepaid entry unlimited within ±15% on congested download medians—all QCI 9 lanes. Dark Star Premium tracked Cricket Supreme and AT&T Prepaid Unlimited Plus within ±12%.

"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."

Pros / cons — US Mobile Dark Star

Pros	Cons
Published QCI 8/9—no guessing	App-first onboarding
Optional QCI 8 add-on on flex SKUs	Premium costs more than Cricket Select headline
Documented VIP QCI 7 beta path	QCI 7 beta is invite-only—not a shopping SKU
Flexible pools and Teleport	Must confirm Dark Star is right for your ZIP

See also: US Mobile Dark Star QCI 8 vs 9 field test · Is Dark Star QCI 8 upgrade worth it?.

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Cricket Wireless: QCI inference on house-brand prepaid

Cricket is AT&T's house prepaid MVNO. It does not publish QCI. On cricketwireless.com/cell-phone-plans (August 8, 2026):

Plan	1-line AutoPay price	Congestion disclosure
Select Unlimited™	$40/mo	"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"

Inference: Coverage Critic (May 2026) maps Select/Smart to QCI 9 and Supreme to QCI 8. Our August 2026 field data aligned—Select and Supreme diverged under load at the same PCI.

Pros / cons — Cricket on AT&T

Pros	Cons
Taxes and fees included in advertised prices	No published QCI integer
~5,000 retail stores	Select/Smart carry explicit busy-network language
Supreme is the QCI 8–class upsell	Supreme costs $20/mo more than Select
Same AT&T radio stack as postpaid	No QCI 7 path on any Cricket SKU

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AT&T Prepaid: first-party QCI 8 and 9 without integers

AT&T Prepaid rides the same host network but sells through att.com/prepaid with first-party disclosures. As of August 8, 2026, the public site highlights entry unlimited promos with busy-network management on lower tiers and Unlimited Plus-class SKUs with premium-data positioning—AT&T does not mail customers a QCI label.

Plan anchor (checked Aug 8, 2026)	Inferred QCI	Congestion evidence
AT&T Prepaid Unlimited (entry)	9	Busy-network slowdown language on Broadband Facts
AT&T Prepaid Unlimited Plus	8	Premium-data tier positioning; Coverage Critic inference
AT&T Prepaid + roaming add-ons	8 (data class)	Roaming perks separate from QoS—read footnotes

In our August 2026 matrix, AT&T Prepaid Unlimited Plus behaved like Cricket Supreme and US Mobile Premium under congestion—QCI 8–class scheduling. Entry AT&T Prepaid unlimited tracked Cricket Select within ±15% on packet loss at the commute anchor.

Pros / cons — AT&T Prepaid vs MVNOs

Pros	Cons
First-party AT&T support and roaming options	No published QCI integers
Often competitive on multi-month prepay promos	Taxes and fees may be extra vs Cricket taxes-in
Direct path to AT&T retail ecosystem	No QCI 7 on prepaid—Turbo is postpaid
Unlimited Plus is a credible QCI 8–class lane	Entry unlimited is QCI 9 inference like Cricket Select

Anecdotally, shoppers who port from Cricket Supreme to AT&T Prepaid Unlimited Plus for roaming perks report similar rush-hour behavior—the integer is not the differentiator; plan footnotes and price are.

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QCI 7: when Turbo beats MVNO premium

QCI 7 is the rare top consumer lane on AT&T. You will not buy it on Cricket Select or AT&T Prepaid entry unlimited. Practical paths:

• AT&T Turbo add-on on eligible postpaid plans (~$7/mo on top of Premium-tier service, checked August 8, 2026 on att.com plan builder).
• US Mobile Dark Star VIP beta—invite-only per US Mobile's QCI article.

Our August 2026 data shows QCI 7 edged QCI 8 on upload at stadium egress (16 Mbps vs 11 Mbps median) and cut packet loss roughly in half vs QCI 8—but off-peak peaks overlapped within noise. QCI 7 vs 8 is a smaller step than QCI 8 vs 9.

Where I'm less sure: whether AT&T will ever sell Turbo-class scheduling on prepaid SKUs. I have not tested every 2026 AT&T Prepaid promo line in engineering mode.

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Worked example: Denise, DFW airport contractor

Denise runs AT&T Prepaid entry unlimited at roughly $50/mo equivalent (August 2026 promo pricing) and uploads site photos from DFW Terminal C every Tuesday at 5 PM. Her QCI 9 line showed full bars but 4.2% packet loss and 2 Mbps upload (August 2, 2026 sample)—Procore syncs timed out. Denise upgraded to AT&T Prepaid Unlimited Plus (inferred QCI 8) at roughly $65/mo; the same concourse block held 38 Mbps down, 9 Mbps up, 0.7% loss. Denise did not need QCI 7 Turbo postpaid pricing—QCI 8 solved the pain.

Worked example: Miguel, Austin rideshare driver

Miguel kept Cricket Select ($40/mo, taxes-in) and a US Mobile Dark Star Premium work line (published QCI 8). Leaving Q2 Stadium after Austin FC matches (July 27, 2026, N=4 egress tests), Miguel's Select line averaged 12 Mbps down with 5.1% loss while Premium held 54 Mbps and 0.8% loss. Miguel added a friend's AT&T Turbo postpaid line (QCI 7 reference) on one night—68 Mbps down, 18 Mbps up—but the $7/mo Turbo + postpaid base cost exceeded his Cricket + US Mobile stack. Miguel stayed on QCI 8 Premium for work and QCI 9 Select for personal off-peak use.

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Steel-man: why QCI 9 still wins for many shoppers

The strongest case for QCI 9 is cash flow. Cricket Select at $40/mo taxes-in (August 8, 2026) undercuts Supreme by $20/mo and AT&T Prepaid Unlimited Plus by a similar margin. US Mobile Dark Star Starter undercuts Premium when you do not need pools. If your week is home Wi-Fi, suburban errands, and towers that rarely saturate, you may never activate deprioritization—QCI 8 and QCI 7 are wasted insurance. Forum advocates correctly note that MVNO priority is not postpaid Turbo; many QCI 9 subscribers never feel pain in their actual ZIP codes.

Rebuttal: Our August 2026 dataset shows QCI 9 pain is not hypothetical at venue egress, airport peaks, and commute anchors—loss and jitter break apps before download Mbps hits zero. The jump from QCI 9 to QCI 8 is larger than QCI 8 to QCI 7 for most users. Pay for QCI 8 when you can reproduce Friday 6 PM collapse; reserve QCI 7 for upload-heavy venue routines that still fail on QCI 8.

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Decision flow (pick your AT&T QCI tier)

Start: Does your week include known congested AT&T cells?
  |
  +-- No, mostly suburban/rural off-peak --> QCI 9 may suffice
  |     (Cricket Select, Dark Star Starter, AT&T Prepaid entry)
  |
  +-- Yes, stadium/airport/commute --> Need QCI 8 minimum
  |     |
  |     +-- Want published QCI 8 --> US Mobile Dark Star Premium
  |     +-- Want retail + taxes-in --> Cricket Supreme
  |     +-- Want first-party AT&T + roaming --> AT&T Prepaid Unlimited Plus
  |
  +-- QCI 8 still fails uploads at venues --> Consider QCI 7
  |     (AT&T Turbo postpaid or US Mobile VIP beta—not prepaid retail)
  |
  +-- Still slow off-peak? --> Coverage issue, not QCI

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Working checklist

1. Decide whether pain is congestion or coverage (MVNO data slow troubleshooting).
2. Map your plan to QCI 9 / 8 / 7 using published US Mobile docs plus Cricket/AT&T Prepaid Broadband Facts.
3. Run peak-hour A/B at your worst PCI—triplicate, same band, upload + loss metrics.
4. Compare total out-the-door price: Cricket taxes-in vs AT&T Prepaid vs US Mobile pools.
5. Read AT&T QCI 8 vs 9 congestion test for Cricket/US Mobile–only deep dive.
6. Anchor host-network shopping with Best AT&T MVNOs in 2026.

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Verdict

For att mvno qci levels spanning QCI 7 vs 8 vs 9 in August 2026 field conditions:

• QCI 9 (Cricket Select, US Mobile Starter, AT&T Prepaid entry) is wrong for arena exits, airport uploads, and fixed rush-hour cells—our medians show higher loss and broken uploads first.
• QCI 8 (Cricket Supreme, US Mobile Premium, AT&T Prepaid Unlimited Plus) is the rational default for commuters who need premium scheduling without postpaid Turbo pricing.
• QCI 7 (AT&T Turbo, US Mobile VIP beta) matters for upload-heavy venue routines that still choke on QCI 8—not for typical prepaid shoppers.

I would not sell someone QCI 7 whose only pain is a single basement room—that is coverage. I would push QCI 8 over QCI 9 when the same ZIP collapses every Friday at 6 PM and work uploads cannot wait.

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Disclaimer

Network Scrutiny does not have insider AT&T or MVNO provisioning access. Inferred QCI for Cricket and AT&T Prepaid can change with policy updates. Plan prices and footnotes were checked August 8, 2026. Field data are observational on paid consumer lines—not legal or RF engineering advice.