America’s first major 5G-network has officially launched thanks to T-Mobile. While other companies have been testing their 5G networks in select areas, T-Mobile has finally brought the lighting-fast network to the masses.
Thanks to T-Mobile 200 million people across 5,000 cities in the U.S. are now blanketed by 5G coverage. That means that T-Mobile is now the largest provider of 5G services in the nation. Time will tell how long the company can hold onto that accolade as other providers get ready to launch their own infrastructure over the next few years.
It is important to point out that while T-Mobile’s 5G is faster than the 4G LTE that’s available now, it won’t be the blisteringly fast speeds that have been promised. That’s because T-Mobile built their 5G infrastructure on the 600 MHz low-band spectrum.
Competitors like Verizon and AT&T are taking longer to bring their 5G to market, in part because they’re utilizing the high-band spectrum that will bring with it the absurd speeds often touted by 5G enthusiasts. T-Mobile is quick to point out that they do have plans to bring the high-band 5G service to market as well, though no word on the timeline for that deployment.
T-Mobile’s CEO, John Legere, released the following statement about the service. “While Dumb and Dumber focus on 5G for the (wealthy) Few, launching in just a handful of cities — and forcing customers into their most expensive plans to get 5G — we’re committed to building broad, deep nationwide 5G that people and businesses can access at no extra cost with the New T-Mobile … and today is just the start of that journey.”
Consumers who want to be the first to experience 5G will have to switch to T-Mobile, for now. The reality is that 5G service is coming to America sooner rather than later. While T-Mobile may be first to market on a broad scale, they most certainly will not be the last. The question is not if consumers will come on board, but when the majority will decide to make the switch.
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