T-Mobile was the first of the three carriers to roll out “Nationwide 5G” in the US. And thanks to its purchase of Sprint, it is better positioned to win the race for 5G, thanks to the much coveted 2.5GHz spectrum that Sprint had.
T-Mobile rolled out its 5G network nationwide in 2020. And since then, it has continued to build it out, as well as release more and more phones that work on its 5G network. We now have smartphones, tablets, and even hotspots that work on T-Mobile 5G.
But the real question is just how good is T-Mobile’s 5G? And how much will it cost you, is it worth switching and more. We’ll aim to answer these questions in this post. So you can learn everything you need to know about T-Mobile and its 5G Network.
What is T-Mobile 5G?
T-Mobile 5G is built a bit different than its competitors. For one, it’s using three layers of spectrum for its network. Unlike Verizon and AT&T which are mostly relying on low-band and then mmWave for its network.
T-Mobile benefited greatly from the 600MHz auction and its merger with Sprint going through. T-Mobile rolled out 5G initially on its 600MHz spectrum, which is why it was able to roll it out nationwide, however the speeds weren’t what we expected from 5G. That’s because this is low-band spectrum which offers some great coverage, but speed (and capacity) suffers here.
When T-Mobile closed the deal with Sprint, it also got access to a ton of 2.5GHz spectrum, which many carriers were biting at the chomps to get from Sprint. Sprint itself got the spectrum from purchasing Clearwire in the early 2010s. Which is going to help with T-Mobile’s 5G network, adding more capacity without sacrificing coverage as much as mmWave would.
T-Mobile 5G Cake Explained
What are the layers of T-Mobile’s 5G Cake?
T-Mobile has talked a lot about it’s 5G Cake. Which is a really good way to show what their plan is for their 5G network. You can see a picture of it above.
Basically at the bottom, there’s low-band for nationwide 5G. That’s using the 600MHz spectrum that is also used for 4G LTE. That explains why its nationwide 5G network is very similar in speed to 4G LTE.
In the middle there is mid-band, for larger metro areas. This uses the 2.5GHz spectrum that it got from the merger with Sprint.
Finally, we have mmWave at the top, which is going to be ideal for dense urban areas. Think of cities like New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. As well as venues like the Staples Center, Ford Field, etc. Where there are tens of thousands of people in a small area. mmWave is going to provide a lot more capacity, but the coverage of mmWave is really terrible.
And that’s why T-Mobile is using 600MHz, 2.5GHz and mmWave altogether for its 5G network. To provide great coverage and incredible speeds.
What happens to Sprint’s 5G network?
In April of 2020, the merger with Sprint was made complete. Which meant that it was only a matter of time before its 5G network was taken down and integrated into T-Mobile’s network. When the merger was complete, a lot of people were worried that it might end up like the Nextel-Sprint merger in the early 2000s. Where Sprint wasn’t able to actually use Nextel’s network for nearly a decade after it purchased the company.
However, T-Mobile had a good history of merging with another carrier. Like MetroPCS. It was able to merge quite nicely with MetroPCS which was also a CDMA carrier – like Verizon and Sprint.
The early Sprint 5G smartphones no longer work on T-Mobile (or Sprint’s) 5G network. We’re talking about the Galaxy S10 5G and Note 10 5G phones. Anything like the Galaxy S20 and newer will still work on T-Mobile’s 5G network, which is good to hear.
The Sprint 5G network is gone, and has been refarmed into T-Mobile’s 5G network. If you have a 5G phone and it doesn’t work on T-Mobile, you likely need to get a new one.
Is there T-Mobile 5G coverage in my area?
Most likely. Yes.
T-Mobile 5G Coverage Map
T-Mobile launched 5G in almost every city across the country. This is thanks to the large amount of 600MHz (and in some areas, 700MHz) spectrum that T-Mobile owns. Below is a list of cities that have T-Mobile 5G on the 2.5GHz band right now (which means enhanced 5G):
Arizona
Eloy
Arkansas
Jacksonville
North Little Rock
Trumann
California
Azusa
Baldwin Park
Citrus
Florence-Graham
Garden Grove
La Puente
Los Angeles
Monrovia
Norwalk
Ontario
Paramount
San Fernando
Temple City
Walnut Park
West Carson
Willowbrook
Connecticut
New Haven
Delaware
Wilmington
Florida
Azalea Park
Dunedin
East Lake-Orient Park
Elfers
Holiday
Inwood
Key Vista
Longwood
Minneola
New Port Richey
Nokomis
Oak Ridge
Port Richey
Progress Village
Ridgecrest
Sky Lake
Venice
Westchase
Zephyrhills
Georgia
Atlanta
Dallas
Gainesville
Grayson
Johns Creek
Mableton
Newnan
North Atlanta
Riverdale
Scottdale
Smyrna
Winder
Illinois
Addison
Arlington Heights
Aurora
Batavia
Belleville
Bellwood
Bloomington
Bradley
Bridgeview
Buffalo Grove
Burbank
Calumet City
Carol Stream
Champaign
Channahon
Chicago
Chicago Heights
Chicago Ridge
Cicero
Crestwood
Dolton
Eglin
Elk Grove Village
Elmwood Park
Evergreen Park
Forest Park
Glendale Heights
Granite City
Hanover Park
Hazel Crest
Hoffman Estates
Indian Creek
Ingalls Park
Kankakee
Lake Zurich
Lansing
Lemont
Lockport
Lombard
Lyons
Markham
Maywood
Melrose Park
Midlothian
Mount Prospect
Mundelein
Naperville
Niles
Normal
Norridge
North Chicago
Northlake
Oak Lawn
Palos Hills
Park Forest
Paxton
Pekin
Plainfield
Richton Park
River Grove
Riverdale
Romeoville
Schaumburg
South Chicago Heights
Stone Park
Streamwood
Swansea
Tinley Park
University Park
Urbana
Vernon Hills
Waterloo
Waukegan
Wheaton
Wheeling
Woodridge
Worth
Indiana
Crown Point
Evansville
Greenwood
Hammond
Indianapolis city (balance)
Lawrence
Merrillville
Kansas
Overland Park
Pittsburg
Wichita
Maryland
Crofton
Largo
Laurel
Lochearn
Maryland City
Melrose
Middle City
Middle River
Parkville
Revere
Saugus
Severn
Towson
Urbana
**Massachusetts
Holbrook
Waltham
Michigan
Bangor
Center Line
Clinton
Decatur
Eastpointe
Inkster
Warren
Ypsilanti
Minnesota
Columbia Heights
Elk River
Hilltop
Hopkins
Maplewood
Minneapolis
St. Paul
Missouri
Black Jack
Carthage
Charlack
Clayton
Cliff Village
Columbia
Dennis Acres
Flordell Hills
Foristell
Grandview
Houston Lake
Joplin
Kirkwood
Lake Mykee Town
Lawson
New Bloomfield
Raytown
St. Joseph
St. Louis
University City
Warrensburg
Nevada
Enterprise
New Jersey
Atlantic City
Brooklawn
Camden
Cliffside Park
Clifton
Dover
East Newark
East Orange
Echelon
Edgewater
Elizabeth
Elmwood Park
Englewood
Fair Lawn
Fairview
Fort Lee
Franklin Center
Garfield
Glen Rock
Guttenberg
Hasbrouck Heights
Hoboken
Interlaken
Jersey City
Kearny
Linden
Lodi
Morristown
Newark
North Arlington
Palisades Park
Passaic
Paterson
Pine Hill
Pine Valley
Ridgefield
Rockaway
Roselle
Rutherford
Secaucus
Somerville
Totowa
Trenton
Union City
Victory Gardens
Wallington
Wanamassa
West New York
Wharton
Wood-Ridge
New York
Amsterdam
Babylon
Central Islip
Copiague
East Williston
Franklin Square
Freeport
Garden City
Garden City Park
Green Island
Harbor Isle
Hempstead
Island Park
Lake Mohegan
Lindenhurst
Long Beach
Malverne Park Oaks
Middle Island
Mineola
New York
Plainview
Shrub Oak
South Hempstead
Terryville
Troy
University Gardens
West Babylon
West Hempstead
Williston Park
North Carolina
Apex
Asheville
Charlotte
Clemmons
Concord
Cornelius
Hendersonville
Kernersville
Pineville
Piney Green
Stallings
Statesville
Valley Hill
Vanceboro
Winston-Salem
Youngsville
Ohio
Avalon
Brooklyn
Cincinnati
Columbus
Finneytown
Hamilton
Hanover
Lancaster
London
McKees Rocks
Monroe
Rossmoyne
Sandusky
Oklahoma
Broken Arrow
Choctaw
Del City
Smith Village
Oregon
Aloha
Newberg
Sherwood
Pennsylvania
Aldan
Aliquippa
Allentown
Arnold
Beaver
Bellmawr
Bethlehem
Blawnox
Brackenridge
Braddock
Bridgewater
Bryn Mawr
Chalfant
Chester
Collingswood
Colwyn
Darby
Duryea
East Lansdowne
Folsom
Kerrtown
Lansdowne
Levittown
Liberty
Meadville
Millbourne
Munhall
New Kensington
North Braddock
Philadelphia
Phoenixville
Rankin
Ridley Park
Rutledge
Tarentum
Upland
Verona
Whitaker
Yeadon
Youngstown
Rhode Island
Woonsocket
South Carolina
Goose Creek
Sangaree
Tennessee
Berry Hill
Franklin
Hendersonville
Knoxville
Lebanon
Maryville
Oak Ridge
Sevierville
Shelbyville
Texas
Bacliff
Cloverleaf
Dallas
Fifth Street
Galena Park
Houston
Jacinto City
La Porte
Nassau Bay
Shenandoah
South Houston
Stafford
Virginia
Alexandria
Arlington
Bailey’s Crossroads
Brambleton
Broadlands
Bull Run
Falls Church
Hampton
Herndon
Highland Springs
Lake Barcroft
Loudoun Valley Estates
Manassas
Manassas Park
Merrifield
Newport News
Norfolk
Richmond
Springfield
Sudley
Tysons Corner
Virginia Beach
Washington
Yorkshire
Washington
Burien
Geneva
Monroe
Oak Harbor
Snohomish
Washington D.C.
Wisconsin
Beloit
Milwaukee
Neenah
South Milwaukee
West Allis
What phones work on T-Mobile’s 5G Network?
Most of the phones on the market right now support T-Mobile’s 5G network. Even if you don’t buy it from T-Mobile. Here are a few options for T-Mobile-branded phones that work on its 5G network:
Apple iPhone 12 series
Samsung Galaxy S21 series
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
Google Pixel 5
Google Pixel 5
As for unlocked phones, you have a few more options, mostly those from OnePlus.
OnePlus 8
OnePlus 8 Pro
OnePlus 8T
OnePlus Nord N10 5G
The amount of 5G phones will continue to improve over the coming years as more phones become available.
What plans are available with 5G connectivity?
The skinny here is that, all of T-Mobile’s plans work with 5G, and come with it included. Meaning that there’s no extra fee to be able to use 5G on T-Mobile.
Unlike some of its competitors, T-Mobile does not make any major distinctions between its networks. So you’ll get 2G, 3G, 4G LTE or 5G, depending on where you are, on any and all plans.
It’s worth noting that the new Magenta Max plan is the best for those that want to take full advantage of its 5G network. This is the truly unlimited plan, with no cap on when you’ll get throttled. It costs $85 per month, and of course gets cheaper the more lines you add.
Magenta Max also comes with 40GB of mobile hotspot at 4G/5G speeds, afterwards it is slowed down to 3G speeds. There’s also Netflix included for a single line, something that is not the case with the regular Magenta plans – typically you need at least two lines.
Finally, with Magenta Max, you also get 4K streaming. And aren’t limited to SD streaming like on its other plans. So you can really take full advantage of this 5G network with the Magenta Max plan here.
Will T-Mobile 5G give me cancer?
No.
There have been a lot of conspiracy theories going around the past couple years, claiming that 5G is going to penetrate the human body and give us cancer. When the COVID-19 pandemic first started, many tried to claim that 5G caused COVID-19, which is also not true.
Let’s think about this for a second. The majority of the spectrum being used for 5G, is already in use on 4G networks. The only real change here is mmWave. Which is a much higher band of spectrum, and it’s actually really weak. Have you ever wondered why all of those gigabit speed tests on 5G networks only happened outside? That’s because it can’t penetrate through walls to work indoors. At least not yet.
Yet, people seem to think that mmWave, which can’t even handle some light wind, is going to be able to penetrate the human body. No. It’s not going to. mmWave can barely handle light wind, or a tree getting in its way, before disconnecting from your phone.
This is why it is important to do some research on these theories before spreading them. As some of them are pretty idiotic. And spreading fake news is never a good idea.
T-Mobile 5G
Is T-Mobile 5G worth it?
T-Mobile’s 5G network has gotten a lot of hate since it launched in 2020. Many complain that it’s the same speed if not slower than 4G LTE. And the reason for that is because it is using the same spectrum as 4G LTE. So yeah, the speed is going to be almost the same. However, those in markets with 2.5GHz and mmWave available, are seeing much faster speeds.
It’ll take time before the full 5G Cake is complete for T-Mobile, but once it is, it may be the best value in wireless. T-Mobile is already much cheaper than most of the competition, when it comes to its plans. And that will likely continue.
As we say with all the carriers and plans for 5G, don’t upgrade to a 5G phone for 5G. Upgrade because you need or want a new phone. It’s not worth it to upgrade solely for 5G at this point. That will change in a couple of years, of course. But for now, it’s just not worth it.
The post T-Mobile 5G: Price, Plans, Availability & More appeared first on Android Headlines.
Source: ndroidheadlines.com