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Sprint to Launch 5G In 2019 Using 2.5 GHz Spectrum

Dec 21, 2017, 8:10 AM by Eric M. Zeman

Sprint today voiced its support of the recently ratified NSA 5G NR specification and revealed its own plans for deploying 5G. The specification for NSA 5G NR includes support for up to 100 MHz on a single carrier (in the 2.5 GHz band) versus today's limit of 20 MHz per carrier. Sprint holds a massive 160 MHz slice of 2.5 GHz spectrum in the top 100 markets around the U.S., which will allow Sprint to offer mid-band 5G to many Americans. The company is working with Qualcomm and SoftBank to bring 5G services and devices to market by late 2019. Sprint says it will first use Massive MIMO as a stepping stone to 5G. It will launch Massive MIMO in its 2.5 GHz spectrum in 2018. These radios contain 64 transmitters and 64 receivers each, which allow for incredibly accurate beam-forming. These radios will be software-upgradeable to 5G NR. Sprint did not say anything about plans to support mmWave-based 5G in high-band spectrum. "This is an important milestone and we’re making great progress accelerating the development and commercialization of 5G NR in the 2.5 GHz band," said Dr. John Saw, Sprint CTO. "5G will spur dramatic innovation and progress around the world, and we see great opportunity in mobile 5G, massive machine type communications, and ultra-reliable and low-latency communications." AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon all have similar plans and timeframes for bringing 5G to market.

Jul 14, 2021
AT&T today shared an update on the expansion of its 5G network, and shared plans for its 5G network going forward. The company's sub-6 GHz 5G network now covers 250 million people nationwide.

T-Mobile Maps its Expanded High-Speed 5G Coverage

Jul 29, 2021
As T-Mobile continues to expand its 5G network, PCMag reports that the company has updated its coverage maps to differentiate between its faster "Ultra Capacity" 5G and its slower but more widely-available "Extended Range" 5G. T-Mobile's 5G Ultra Capacity network uses a mid-band frequency (2.5 GHz, AKA band 41, which was inherited from Sprint) that offers faster data speeds than most sub-6 GHz 5G, and much better coverage than mmWave 5G.

T-Mobile Takes Crown of Fastest Mobile Network

Aug 27, 2021
For the first time, T-Mobile has won the title of Fastest Mobile Network in PCMag's annual nationwide drive test. T-Mobile's 5G network was the fastest in 24 out of 36 tested cities and regions.

T-Mobile Details Plans to Keep its Lead in Mid-Band 5G Through 2023

Dec 1, 2021
T-Mobile recently announced that its mid-band 5G network now covers over 200 million people, a threshold that the industry acknowledges as "nationwide" coverage. (Mid-band 5G offers an ideal balance of fast data speeds and broad coverage compared to 5G in other bands.) In an interview with Phone Scoop, T-Mobile executives detailed how they plan to maintain the company's lead in mid-band 5G even as Verizon and AT&T launch mid-band 5G early next year.

Verizon Details C-Band 5G Launch Plans, Promises 10x Data Speed

Jan 4, 2022
Verizon has formally announced plans to launch 5G in the new "C-band" mid-band radio frequencies later his month, and filled in details of what the launch will include. The company is promising to cover 100 million people — nearly 1/3 of the population — with the new network at launch.

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JJinNYC

Dec 21, 2017, 3:42 PM

LOL

5G in 2019? Yea ok. They don't even have VoLTE yet

brad162

They could do 5G.. The VoLTE is just because they do not have an IMS core for voice calls, has nothing to do with data.

...

aeternavi

Dec 22, 2017, 4:51 PM

Prediction: complete flop

This 2.5GHz spectrum is what's left over from the days of "4G" WiMAX. Back then the problem was it offered HORRIBLE indoor coverage due to the high frequency. They really need to ditch that and realize why no other carriers are going to be doing their own on that high of band.

PhoneMaster

Dec 22, 2017, 7:29 AM

5G on Sprint

The problem with this of course is the feeble building penetration of 2.5Ghz signals. Especially since the 5G signal will probably be less robust than 4G (same way that 3G was more fragile than 2G and 4G was more fragile than 3G).

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