The multi-year investment expands its 5G coverage through new and upgraded cell sites, and will enable better internet speeds for businesses, schools, healthcare providers, first responders, and residential customers.
In sum, what to know:
Florida expansion – T-Mobile has finalized a multi-year investment in Florida, including 1,350 sites.
speed, resilience – average 5G download speeds in Florida now hit 266.7 Mbps, a 216% boost since 2021.
Satellite coverage – new Starlink-powered T-Satellite service, launching July 23, will connect customers in remote areas beyond reach of terrestrial networks.
T-Mobile US has completed a $2 billion network expansion across the state of Florida. The multi-year investment expands its 5G coverage through new and upgraded cell sites, and will enable better internet speeds for businesses, schools, healthcare providers, first responders, and residential customers.
T-Mobile US said the expansion included 1,282 new or retained sites from the merger with Sprint. It also included nearly 1,350 sites upgraded across the state. It has also ‘hardened’ a total of 1,375 sites with the aim of improving emergency response and disaster recovery.
With the upgrade, average statewide 5G download speeds now reach 266.7Mbps, a 216% increase compared to network speeds achieved in 2021. The upgrade also enabled the telco to reach full 5G coverage across Florida.
In Miami, where the carrier has invested a total of $522.5 million since 2021, a total of 361 new 5G sites were installed. In Tampa, total investments for the 5G upgrade program since 2021 amounted to $256.4 million, which included the installation of 119 new 5G sites, while investments in Orlando totaled $204.2 million, with 126 new 5G sites.
The company also noted that its new T-Satellite services offered via Starlink will help keep customers in Florida and across the country connected in places no terrestrial network can reach by using satellites in space. The new offering will officially launch on July 23.
David Bezzant, vice president at T-Mobile Business Group, said: “Through this investment, we’re strengthening communications during natural disasters and closing coverage gaps in remote areas, so people can stay connected in critical moments and in places no other signal reaches.”
Last year, T-Mobile US said it was adding new capacity to its 5G network by activating the 2.5 GHz spectrum it won in auction 108, expanding its ‘Ultra Capacity’ 5G coverage to new communities. T-Mobile invested $304 million in the FCC’s Auction 108 back in 2022, securing 7,000 county-based licenses covering more than 80 million people.
T-Mobile’s 5G network covers more than 330 million people across two million square miles. More than 300 million people nationwide are covered by T-Mobile’s ‘Ultra Capacity’ 5G.
