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T-Mobile Promises Ultra-Fast 5G Wireless by 2020

The fifth generation (5G) wireless standard doesn't technically exist yet, and most analysts don't expect the ultra-fast speeds to even begin appearing until 2020. That's not stopping T-Mobile from adding to the 5G hype wars by proclaiming that the company will offer nationwide 5G wireless broadband service by 2020, leveraging the company's recently-acquired 600MHz spectrum. The promise was made by T-Mobile CTO Neville Ray, who recently spoke at an investor conference in Barcelona.

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"We’re committed to drive a 5G rollout by 2020 across the nation, and neither AT&T nor Verizon have stepped up to that challenge,” Ray said. "There’s been a lot of discussion [of] millimeter wave and the kind of surgical, tactical deployments of 5G, and we’ll be there too. But we’ll deploy in the 600 MHz for 5G as we move into the next decade."

Ray was quick to reference that unlike AT&T and Verizon, T-Mobile isn't particularly interested in deploying fixed 5G services first (in large part because, unlike those two companies, T-Mobile doesn't have DSL customers it's busy trying to shovel off to wireless alternatives). T-Mobile's focus remains on using 600MHz spectrum to ultimately provide speeds, notes Ray.

"We have to have a strong mid-band 5G story for the U.S. marketplace," Ray said. "I think the discussion has moved away from the early, Verizon-led millimeter-wave story … Millimeter wave will play a role but we’re pushing hard on the other end, low-band."

Granted when Ray talks about having 5G deployed in 2020, he likely means T-Mobile will begin deploying 5G in 2020. And there's some things that are outside of T-Mobile's control that could impact this timeline.

Before T-Mobile can use its 600MHz spectrum, the FCC needs to help broadcasters transition their operations to different frequencies and channel shares. The FCC has set aside 39 months for the reauthorization and relicensing of TV stations and T-Mobile says it's working closely with broadcasters to help move the transition along. But T-Mobile says there's several things that could delay that, from lagging broadcasters to the Sinclair Tribune megamerger.

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pclover
join:2008-08-02
Santa Cruz, CA

3 recommendations

pclover

Member

LMAO

5G hasn't even been standardized yet.

Hell, They haven't even decided the radio interface layer yet.

So, Somehow T-Mobile is going to deploy a non-existent standard by 2020?