Yesterday, the FCC officially granted the 600MHz spectrum licenses that T-Mobile successfully secured in the recent broadcast incentive auction. The Un-carrier now officially possesses a staggering 31 MHz of 600MHz spectrum licenses nationwide, more than quadrupling its low-band holdings (click for spectrum auction reactions from Verizon and AT&T).
With the spectrum transfer complete, the real fun begins. Despite the cries from skeptics, T-Mobile today is announcing that it will light up the first tower with 600 MHz this summer using spectrum that is already un-occupied. This timeline – well ahead of expectations – sets the stage to prepare for new 600 MHz smartphones from Samsung and other manufacturers expected later this year. T-Mobile now has more than 1 million square miles of 600 MHz spectrum it expects to be clear – in partnership with the FCC and broadcasters – and ready for deployment by year end.
T-Mobile’s unprecedented low-band spectrum purchase in the broadcast incentive auction gives the Un-carrier wide-open premium airwaves to meet customers’ growing demand for mobile data, while the Duopoly’s networks strain under the load of unlimited data. And, the Un-carrier also earlier this year announced plans to use this new spectrum to both bolster its LTE network AND build out the nation’s first nationwide 5G network, expanding 5G beyond the urban core to support applications that require connectivity across the country.
For more information about T-Mobile’s network, visit
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