T-Mobile Covers 60 Percent of US Population with 5G

T-Mobile US extended its 5G network to cover 60 percent of the country’s population using low-band 600MHz spectrum. The operator first launched 5G in June, covering small portions of six cities.

T-Mobile said in a statement it had now lit a nationwide network, covering 200 million people across more than 5,000 cities and towns using 600MHz spectrum. That spectrum offers better range, but a smaller speed boost over 4G. Speeds are initially expected to be around 20 percent faster than LTE on average, but the operator said that 5G performance will increase over time.

Next-generation service will be available at no additional cost to both prepaid and post-paid customers. Two 600MHz-compatible handsets will be available this week: the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren and the Samsung Galaxy Note10+ 5G. Both devices also support Sprint’s 2.5GHz spectrum, which T-Mobile plans to add to the network if a proposed merger is approved. However, they are not compatible with the mmWave spectrum T-Mobile used in its earlier 5G deployments. T-Mobile said 15 additional 5G devices are coming in 2020.