T-Mobile U.S. has turned on its 5G service in metro Detroit, promising faster download speeds with less lag than with 4G service. Sprint customers (T-Mobile and Sprint finalized its merger April 1) with Samsung Galaxy S 20 5G units will be able to access 5G starting later this month.
“Connectivity is more important than ever today, and the challenging time we’re all facing shows just how critical 5G for all is,” says Neville Ray, president of technology for T-Mobile. “While our team safely works to keep people across the country connected to work, school, and family, we aren’t slowing down on building out the broad and deep network that only this combined company can deliver. We won’t stop because this network can do so much good across the country.”
T-Mobile already has launched its 5G service 5,000 cities and towns throughout the U.S., including in parts of Philadelphia, New York, St. Louis, and Columbus, Ohio.
“T-Mobile’s 5G network in Detroit is running on our 600 MHz spectrum, which provides faster speeds and better coverage indoors,” says Steve Carlson, a spokesman for T-Mobile. “Low-band spectrum like 600 MHz can cover hundreds of square miles from a single cell site, provide the wide-area coverage necessary to cover more people in more places, and work indoors and out.”
Carlson says, on average, T-Mobile customers with a 600 MHz 5G phone should see a 20 percent boost in download speeds on top of what its LTE network delivers, and they can expect that to get faster over time.
Customers will need a 5G-capable phone to access the 5G network. T-Mobile currently offers six 5G smartphones that can tap into its nationwide 5G network, including the Samsung Galaxy S20 5G, the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren, and the LG V60 ThinQ 5G. It will add the OnePlus 8 5G to that list on April 29.
