T-Mobile to Launch 5G in 30 Cities This Year
T-Mobile announces that it will start building its 5G network this year, with the hope of expanding it to 30 cities by the end of 2018.
T-Mobile is the latest to announce its plans for a 5G network, after competitors AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon have each had their chance to brag about deployment strategies.
The magenta network made sure its announcement made an impact by revealing that unlike the relatively low range of its rivals, it will have 30 cities equipped with 5G by the end of the year. The company will also launch on the dense areas of New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Dallas.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Taking a strike against AT&T, which earlier announced that it is kicking off in Dallas, Atlanta, and Waco, T-Mobile CTO Neville Ray said, "Why are we in New York and not Waco? Because New York matters."
He added that its 5G will roll out straight to smartphones, not hotspot routers or fixed home broadband. T-Mobile will use 600 MHz band and the high-frequency millimeter wave spectrum, which means the connection will be fast but short-ranged.
Each of the companies has their own definition of a 5G network, which makes its actual description vague, apart from the one common factor that it will definitely be faster. Whether it is something new is also a whole new other matter. According to Ray, it will be an extension of the LTE network, not a replacement.
"5G is another incremental step, and it will become a much larger one as time moves forward," he added.
He, however, clarified that 5G network will not be actually available until this time next year.
"Are we going to see average speeds move up by tens of megabits per second? For sure," Ray told reporters. "Will it be consistent next year? It's too soon to say."
While it seems like T-Mobile will have the most coverage when it rolls out next year, AT&T will be the first to fulfill its promise as it hopes to launch 5G to its three cities by the end of 2018.
