T-Mobile US ‘drops mic’ on 5G rivals with latest expansion

T-Mobile US is also re-farming its 1900 MHz spectrum, which was previously used on Sprint and T-Mo legacy networks

“Consider the mic dropped,” T-Mobile US said in a press release announcing that its Extended Range 5G service — which uses 600 MHz spectrum — now reaches 323 million people, and its Ultra Capacity 5G — which uses 2.5 GHz and 1.9 GHz spectrum — covers 260 million.

Just like Verizon did last week, T-Mo has reached its year-end goal of overing 300 million people with Ultra Capacity 5G by the end of 2023 a few weeks ahead of schedule. However, according to T-Mobile US, that is where the comparison between the two ends. The carrier included an image in its press release that shows two maps of the U.S. side-by-side, one of which claims to show T-Mobile’s 5G coverage, while the other apparently shows Verizon’s. If those pink and red dots are to be believed, T-Mobile US is materially out preforming Verizon in terms of coverage.

It is true that a Q3 2022 report from Ookla found T-Mobile to have the best 5G Availability in the U.S. at 69.2%. AT&T was second at 59.8% and Verizon Wireless was third at 32.0%.

Further, the carrier also announced that it’s adding even more mid-band 5G spectrum in the form of 1900 MHz, which was previously used on Sprint LTE and T-Mobile 3G networks.

T-Mobile is so confident that it has the best network that it’s even offering a three-month free trial for customers with unlocked eSIM-compatible phones via Network Pass.

“We’re rapidly executing on our vision to deliver the highest capacity network this country has ever seen,” said Neville Ray, president of technology at T-Mobile. “We’ve led in 5G coverage from the beginning, delivering a massive 5G footprint that continues to grow.”