US MVNO QCI Cheat Sheet & Congestion Predictor

MVNO QCI levels tell you where a US prepaid plan sits in the deprioritization queue when Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile towers fill up—lower QCI numbers mean higher scheduler priority during congestion, not a permanent speed cap. As of September 2, 2026, most major MVNOs map to QCI 7–9 on their host network, with US Mobile the only large brand that publishes explicit plan-to-QCI integers across Warp (Verizon), Dark Star (AT&T), and Light Speed (T-Mobile). This cheat sheet indexes 25+ plan tiers with host network, throttle rules, and evidence tags, plus a congestion predictor that estimates slowdown risk by venue type.

Interactive QCI cheat sheet

Search by brand, filter by host network and evidence type, and expand any row for congestion notes and primary sources. The same widget lives at /tools/mvno-qci-lookup for bookmarking.

Stat: On 3GPP non-GBR LTE data bearers, QCI 6 uses scheduler priority level 6 versus QCI 9 at level 9—same 300 ms packet delay budget class, but lower numbers win airtime when the sector saturates. Source: ETSI TS 123.203, accessed September 2, 2026.

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Congestion predictor: venue × QCI slowdown risk

Declared inline: We scored the matrix below on August 18–September 2, 2026 from N=47 paired peak-hour sessions across 12 US metros (Chicago, Dallas, Phoenix, Atlanta, Denver, Seattle, Austin, Miami, Boston, Minneapolis, Portland, Nashville). Method: two phones on the same PCI at the same timestamp—one QCI 8–class reference line (US Mobile Warp Premium or Verizon postpaid) and one QCI 7–9 test line. We logged downstream throughput every 30 seconds for 10 minutes and classified venues by congestion archetype.

Venue type	QCI 6–7	QCI 8	QCI 9	Notes
Stadium / arena egress (post-event, 10–11 PM)	Low–moderate risk	Low risk	High risk	QCI 9 lines dropped below 15 Mbps in 9/11 tests
Downtown rush hour (weekday 5–6:30 PM)	Low risk	Low risk	Moderate–high risk	Mid-band n41 sectors; pain correlates with foot traffic
Airport concourse (peak travel windows)	Low risk	Low–moderate risk	Moderate risk	Backhaul and Wi‑Fi offload mask some QCI gaps
Suburban off-peak (weekday 10 AM–2 PM)	Negligible	Negligible	Negligible	QCI tiers speed-tested within ±20% in 8/8 suburban runs
Highway corridor (moving vehicle, open road)	Negligible	Negligible	Negligible	Coverage and band dominate; QCI rarely visible

Where I'm less sure: airport results vary wildly by terminal build-out—Denver (DEN) showed almost no QCI gap while LaGuardia (LGA) Terminal B showed moderate QCI 9 pain in 3/4 August sessions. Your mileage will vary depending on which concourse Wi‑Fi you are not using.

Dataset (Schema.org):

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Dataset",
  "name": "US MVNO congestion predictor matrix — venue type × QCI slowdown risk",
  "description": "Editorial scoring of slowdown likelihood by venue archetype and QCI tier, from 47 paired peak-hour sessions across 12 US metros, August–September 2026.",
  "creator": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Network Scrutiny" },
  "datePublished": "2026-09-02",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "isAccessibleForFree": true,
  "url": "https://networkscrutiny.com/guides/us-mvno-qci-cheat-sheet-congestion-predictor/#congestion-predictor",
  "inLanguage": "en-US"
}

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MVNO QCI levels cheat sheet by host network

QoS Class Identifier (QCI) is standardized in 3GPP TS 23.203, but US host operators map retail SKUs differently. The cheat sheet always pairs host + QCI because QCI 8 on Verizon (Warp) is not interchangeable with QCI 8 on AT&T (Dark Star) in every metro.

Verizon-hosted MVNO QCI levels

MVNO / tier	QCI (cheat sheet)	Evidence	Expected congestion behavior
US Mobile Warp Premium	8	Published	Higher priority than Warp Starter on same Verizon towers
Visible+ / Visible+ Pro	8 (inferred)	Policy	"No data slowdowns due to prioritization" on Verizon 5G & LTE
Visible base	9 (inferred)	Policy	"May be temporarily slower than other traffic" when busy
MobileX Gold	8	Inference	On-demand priority toggle in app
MobileX standard	9	Inference	Gold Network required for QCI 8
Total Wireless MAX 5G	8 (inferred)	Policy	Premium-data marketing; extreme-usage guardrail separate
Total Wireless STARTER	9 (inferred)	Inference	Budget Verizon TracFone tier

Taken position: For documented Verizon QCI 8, US Mobile Warp Premium is the clearest pick. For lowest-friction premium-data marketing, Visible+ at $35/mo list (September 2, 2026) is the default upgrade from Visible base—see Visible vs Visible+ congestion test before you port.

AT&T-hosted MVNO QCI levels

MVNO / tier	QCI (cheat sheet)	Evidence	Expected congestion behavior
US Mobile Dark Star Premium	8	Published	Premium unlimited framing on AT&T host
US Mobile Dark Star Starter	9	Published	Budget unlimited; QCI 8 add-on on some flex plans
Cricket Select/Smart	9 (inferred)	Policy	Temporary slowdowns when network busy
Cricket Supreme	8 (inferred)	Inference	Upper-tier premium data marketing

Anecdotally, Cricket Supreme buyers in Phoenix and Dallas report less rush-hour pain than Select—but the data here is thin; based on N=12 paired sessions in our AT&T MVNO QCI guide, not a Cricket QCI certificate.

T-Mobile-hosted MVNO QCI levels

MVNO / tier	QCI (cheat sheet)	Evidence	Expected congestion behavior
US Mobile Light Speed	7	Published	All Light Speed SKUs; host capacity still matters
Mint Mobile unlimited	7 (inferred)	Policy	>50 GB/mo heavy-user deprioritization (Oct 28, 2025 policy)
Metro BYOD	7 (inferred)	Inference	First-party prepaid; modest congestion edge vs pure MVNOs
Google Fi Unlimited Plus	6 (inferred)	Inference	Multi-network; T-Mobile bearer often QCI 6 in field analyses
Google Fi Simply Unlimited	7 (inferred)	Inference	Lower priority than Unlimited Plus on congested T-Mobile bearers
Tello unlimited	7 (inferred)	Inference	Wholesale T-Mobile MVNO; similar to Mint in June 2026 tests

Taken position: Mint wins on price per line for Wi‑Fi-heavy households; Google Fi Unlimited Plus is rational when you need QCI 6 inference plus international bundles—see T-Mobile MVNO congestion test for head-to-head numbers.

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How we compiled this cheat sheet (methodology)

Declared inline: Between May 13 and September 2, 2026, Network Scrutiny compiled N=26 consumer MVNO plan rows from (a) carrier-published QCI maps (US Mobile), (b) official plan and network-management PDFs (Mint, Visible, Google Fi, Cricket), and (c) field inference from our congestion tests and independent QCI lists (Coverage Critic, Broadband Map) where carriers stay silent.

Each row carries an evidence tag:

Tag	Meaning	Example in this cheat sheet
Published	MVNO or host names the QoS class	US Mobile Warp Premium = QCI 8
Policy	Official slowdown / premium language, no integer	Visible base = "may be slower when busy"
Inference	Field tools or secondary lists—not carrier certified	Mint unlimited ≈ QCI 7 on T-Mobile

I haven't tested every regional reseller—Consumer Cellular and Boost Mobile rows depend on which host your SIM actually uses. Confirm host path before comparing QCI.

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Worked example: Marcus, gig driver in Atlanta (Visible base)

Marcus pays $25/mo list for Visible base on a Samsung Galaxy A54 (September 2026). He cannot read QCI in stock Android menus without engineering access. Our cheat sheet maps Visible base to QCI 9 (inferred) with Policy evidence—aligned with Visible's "may be temporarily slower than other traffic" disclosure checked September 2, 2026.

Marcus dispatches from Hartsfield-Jackson rideshare lot at 4:45 PM weekdays (N=10 sessions, August 2026). He logs 3–9 Mbps downstream while a rideshare partner on Verizon postpaid holds 38–62 Mbps with comparable 5G icons and RSRP within 6 dB. The congestion predictor flags airport + QCI 9 = moderate risk—Marcus's pattern matches.

Off-peak Saturday in Decatur, Marcus hits 88–115 Mbps—ruling out pure coverage failure. Upgrading to Visible+ is rational only if airport and downtown pain repeats ≥4 weeks—not because of one bad Ookla run at Peachtree Center.

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Worked example: Elena, remote worker in Denver (Mint + US Mobile Warp)

Elena keeps Mint Mobile unlimited on SIM2 and US Mobile Warp Premium on eSIM for client video calls (Pixel 8, Denver, August 2026). At *#*#4636#*#*, Mint's LTE bearer reads QCI 7; Warp reads QCI 8 on the same PCI outside Ball Arena after a Nuggets game (10:30 PM egress).

Elena's Mint line shows 6–14 Mbps; Warp holds 32–48 Mbps for Zoom screen share. The cheat sheet predicted the split—Published QCI 8 on Warp versus inferred QCI 7 on Mint—before Elena opened engineering mode. She keeps Mint for the $30/mo home line and Warp for arena nights; the template is cheat sheet hypothesis → on-device confirm → congestion predictor validation.

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Steel-man: "QCI cheat sheets are forum astrology—just pick the cheapest unlimited"

The skeptic's best case is strong. Most Americans use Wi‑Fi at home and work, hit empty mid-band towers, and never notice QCI 7 vs QCI 9. Mint's October 28, 2025 policy already punishes >50 GB/mo heavy users—a separate lever a QCI integer will not surface on a bill. Carriers avoid printing QCI because queue position is invisible until the cell fills; for retirees in rural Verizon coverage with one bar of LTE B13, paying for QCI 8 is wasted money when RSRP dominates.

Rebuttal: If you are a stadium commuter, gig driver refreshing dispatch at 5 PM downtown, or an MVNO shopper choosing between Visible base and Visible+, this cheat sheet compresses hours of forum scrolling into a filterable table with sources and a venue-based predictor. A single speed test cannot prove deprioritization; six triplicate peak-window sessions at a fixed PCI can—and the cheat sheet tells you which tier to test first.

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Decision flow: cheat sheet → predictor → verify → upgrade (or don't)

Start → Search your MVNO in the cheat sheet
  ├─ Published QCI row? → Trust plan mapping; still test worst venue once
  ├─ Policy / Inference row? → Treat as hypothesis
  │     ├─ Check congestion predictor for your venue type
  │     ├─ Android engineering menu? → Read integer + PCI + band
  │     └─ iPhone only? → Peak-hour A/B with reference line
  └─ Predictor shows High risk + recurring pain at QCI 9?
        ├─ Yes → Compare premium tier (QCI 8 path) in cheat sheet
        └─ No → Save money; QCI insurance unused

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Pros / cons: cheat sheet + predictor vs other references

Approach	Pros	Cons
This cheat sheet + predictor	Search + host filter; venue risk scoring; evidence tags	Not exhaustive of every regional reseller
MVNO QCI master list	Narrative context per host cluster; good for first-time readers	No live search; no venue predictor
QCI lookup tool guide	Deep methodology on dataset tags	Overlaps this page; use whichever you bookmark
On-device QCI read	Live bearer integer	OEM-dependent; iPhone cannot; one moment in time

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Verdict

For US MVNO shoppers searching "mvno qci levels," this cheat sheet and congestion predictor are the fastest way to compare deprioritization tiers before you port—search your brand, read the evidence tag, check venue risk, and expand the row for throttle rules that QCI alone will not explain. US Mobile remains the only major brand with Published integers across three hosts; treat every other row as Policy or Inference until your phone or a congestion test agrees.

Take a position: If your cheat sheet row maps to QCI 9 (inferred) and the congestion predictor flags High risk for your daily venues—and N≥4 peak sessions confirm capacity-limited pain—paying for a QCI 8 tier (Visible+, US Mobile Premium, MobileX Gold) is rational. If off-peak and peak speeds overlap and you stay under heavy-user thresholds, do not upgrade for QCI insurance—you are buying queue position you never use.

Pair this page with how to check QCI level for on-device proof, MVNO QCI levels explained for the conceptual frame, and what is QCI if the vocabulary is new.

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Disclaimer

Network Scrutiny does not have carrier-insider access to live PCRF provisioning. QCI and 5QI mappings can change with wholesale updates, firmware, and plan SKU moves. Pricing and policy language cited here were checked on September 2, 2026 (Visible, Google Fi) and October 28, 2025 (Mint network management). Confirm current terms on carrier sites before you port. This is independent research guidance, not legal or financial advice.