T-Mobile has unveiled its plan to launch 5G services while aiming to produce a nationwide network based connection on the next-generation technology by the year 2020. The competition to build 5G networks has seen carriers in other Asian countries such as China and South Korea. On the other hand, USA starts the trials of wireless technology that has yet to be formally defined by the international standards bodies.
According to The Verge, T-Mobile announced today its timeline for launching a true nationwide LTE starting to roll out in 2019, with a complete launch by 2020. T-Mobile notes that this move of the company is in contrast to other competitors. Rivals are focusing on short-range and high-frequency millimeter wave technologies for 5G networks while T-Mobile's plan is to concentrate on longer-range and lower-frequency 600 MHz spectrum.
With that said, the German holding company hasn’t necessarily ruled out the use of millimeter wave bands for their upcoming 5G efforts. For the record, T-Mobile’s fresh 600 MHz swath operating with 5G technologies still likely won’t be as quick as the 5G up in the higher bandwidth millimeter wave range. While T-Mobile hasn’t explained what their 5G plan will look like, for now, it seems like the giant company is at least determined to offer a true 5G network before the end of 2020.
Rivals On 5G Network
Rivals Verizon and AT&T have experimented with 5G too, as reported by CNET. Using the higher-frequency spectrum, which claimed to give speeds that are higher than a fiber-optic line, both competitors produced an initial 5G network summary but limited in geography. "This positions T-Mobile to deliver a 5G network that offers both breadth and depth nationwide," Technology Officer Neville Ray said in a blog post.
However, the companies don't have enough access to huge amounts of this higher-frequency spectrum. And because of that, the trials and deployments will be limited. On a positive note, at least we know that the two bigger carriers are focusing more on providing a true 5G network service for a replacement of traditional landline-based broadband.
