T-Mobile US plans to activate a Standalone 5G core this quarter and is meanwhile expanding its use of both 2.5 GHz and 600 MHz for service in a number of U.S. cities, as the carrier continues its integration of the Sprint network.
In a blog post updating the carrier’s recent 5G-related progress, President of Technology Neville Ray said that T-Mobile US is “hard at work getting ready to light up standalone 5G this quarter” and highlighted its recent standalone 5G data testing. Having SA 5G, he said, “will expand our coverage and bring with it improved latency and faster uploads. It will also pave the way for applications that require real-time responses and massive connectivity such as mobile augmented and virtual reality, cloud gaming, smart factories and meters and even connected vehicles.”
Ray also took the opportunity to tout recent analysis from OpenSignal and Ookla on T-Mobile US’ 5G network availability. The carrier’s reliance on far-reaching 600 MHz spectrum for 5G means that its 5G footprint significantly outstrips the other national carriers’ 5G coverage areas. Verizon in particular relied on millimeter wave for its initial deployments, and AT&T has moved to a mix of high- and low-band 5G deployments. Verizon expects to be able to dramatically expand its 5G coverage via the use of Dynamic Spectrum Sharing later this year.
5G speeds, it should be noted, are a different story. Low-band 5G performance tends to look pretty similar to 4G, while mmWave-based 5G is spotty but speedy. Post-merger, T-Mo is leveraging Sprint’s mid-band spectrum holdings to boost its 5G speed performance and also utilizes mmWave in some urban areas, per its “layer cake” 5G spectrum strategy. Ray said in his blog post that T-Mobile US is “rapidly deploying critical mid-band 2.5 GHz spectrum from Sprint” to increase capacity and speed, and announced that mid-band 5G from T-Mo is now live in parts of Chicago, Illinois; Houston, Texas; and Los Angeles, California.
Ray said that mid-band 5G testing is showing average download speeds of more than 300 Mbps and peak speeds of 1200 Mbps. T-Mobile US has also tested the reach of its low-band 5G, recently completing tests with Ericsson, Qualcomm and OnePlus that demonstrated a 5G connection reaching 60 miles from the base station (on 600 MHz).
The T-Mo exec also said that the carrier’s 600 MHz spectrum is finally repacked and cleared of broadcasters, a little more than three years after being auctioned. Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Richmond, Va., Topeka, Kan., Sussex County, Del., and coming soon in Buffalo, N.Y.
Related to the carrier’s commitments to the Federal Communications Commission as part of the merger with Sprint, Ray said that T-Mo is moving ahead with the expansion of its wireless broadband internet service pilot. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, the carrier has started offering the service to people who aren’t existing T-Mobile US customers. Ray noted that the carrier plans to offer T-Mobile Home Internet is more than 50% of U.S. zip codes.
