T-Mobile has achieved its year-end goal of covering 260 million people with its Ultra Capacity 5G service weeks ahead of schedule, the company announced today. The company expects to cover 323 million people with Ultra Capacity 5G by the end of next year, which is nearly nationwide service.
The carrier uses the Ultra Capacity 5G name for service deployed using mid-band spectrum. Mid-band spectrum is widely seen as offering the optimum mixture of speed and range for 5G.
T-Mobile acquired mid-band spectrum in the 2.5 GHZ band when it merged with Sprint and acquired more in a subsequent auction. The company was by far the biggest winner in that auction, which was completed in September.
More recently the carrier deployed spectrum in the 1900 MHz band. Deployment in the 1900 MHz band adds a new layer of mid-band spectrum, T-Mobile explained.
T-Mobile Nationwide 5G Progress
T-Mobile’s overall 5G footprint now covers 323 million people, exceeding 5G coverage of other carriers, the company said. That number includes people covered by the company’s Extended Range 5G, which is deployed in lower-frequency spectrum that supports greater range but at lower speeds.
The company has also started to combine three channels of mid-band 5G spectrum, with tests producing peak speeds topping 3 Gbps on T-Mobile’s 5G standalone network.
Currently, T-Mobile customers with the Samsung Galaxy S22 are leveraging the 3 Gbps capability in parts of the network, with the three-carrier aggregation to expand nationwide, and be accessible by additional devices in the near future, according to the company
“We’re rapidly executing on our vision to deliver the highest capacity network this country has ever seen,” Neville Ray, T-Mobile president of technology, said in a prepared statement about the T-Mobile nationwide 5G progress. “We’ve led in 5G coverage from the beginning, delivering a massive 5G footprint that continues to grow. And with Ultra Capacity 5G, it’s undeniable that T-Mobile customers have access to the most powerful 5G network around.”
