Throws shade at Verizon, AT&T in publishing 5G coverage maps
T-Mobile US today announced it will use millimeter wave spectrum to offer up 5G services in parts of six cities beginning on June 28 to correspond with sales of the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G. The company published detailed coverage maps showing where subscribers in Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York can expect a 5G signal.
Verizon and AT&T both went to market with millimeter wave-based 5G. T-Mobile has said its plan for nationwide coverage hinges on its vast portfolio of 600 MHz spectrum, but the “Un-carrier” also has its own stash of high-band frequencies. Sprint activated its mobile 5G offering using mid-band 2.5 GHz spectrum. The complementary aspects of Sprint’s and T-Mobile’s spectrum is a key piece of the pending $26.5 billion merger, which is awaiting regulatory approval.
T-Mobile US CEO John Legere, who has been highly critical of AT&T’s and Verizon’s millimeter wave-based 5G offerings, particularly the lack of coverage maps, on June 20th wrote a blog on the spectrum topic. “Current 5G networks in the U.S. aren’t anything to write home about. That’s because they’re mostly focused on high-band millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum, which doesn’t travel far from the cell site and is blocked by things like trees, windows and doors. It’s a massively important part of 5G, don’t get me wrong, but it’s just that – a PART. We’ve been clear all along… real, game-changing 5G will require a range of spectrum – low, mid and high – and only the New T-Mobile will be able to deliver it”Â
The operator said it will use “Multi-band Dual Connectivity” to aggregate “5G in the millimeter wave band and LTE.”
Click here for a link to the 5G coverage maps T-Mobile published.
