T-Mobile Will Launch Its 5G network, Galaxy S10 5G on June 28
T-Mobile has been talking about 5G for as long as the other US carriers, but it hasn’t had any official 5G launch plans until now. The carrier will launch in a handful of cities on June 28, and there will be a single 5G device available to take advantage of the new network. T-Mobile will launch the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G on the same day for a predictably high $1,300.
The Galaxy S10 5G started as a Verizon exclusive several months back, but it was the only carrier with any appreciable 5G coverage at the time. It then expanded to AT&T and Sprint.
While there are only a few 5G markets, anyone can buy the GS10 5G from T-Mobile. It’s $1,299.99 full price or $31.25 per month with a $549.99 down payment. The 5G network will only work in Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and New York. And it won’t even cover very much of those cities.
T-Mobile is launching 5G with millimeter wave (mmWave) like AT&T and Verizon. These high-frequency signals have a lot of bandwidth, but they don’t propagate far or pass through obstacles. T-Mobile has talked about adding lower frequencies to 5G, but the current modems don’t support that.
T-Mobile deserves some praise for being honest about its 5G coverage. AT&T and Verizon just tell you roughly where they have mmWave coverage, but T-Mobile posted coverage maps. Most of the 5G cities have very patchy coverage, amounting to no more than a dozen or so bubbles a few blocks across. T-Mobile will no doubt use this shortcoming to justify its planned takeover of Sprint.
There will be more T-Mobile 5G cities as time goes on, but it’s going to be tough to get a reliable 5G connection unless you happen to be standing on the right street corner. Thankfully, T-Mobile isn’t charging extra for access to its 5G network. Verizon initially wanted to charge an extra $10 per month, but it has pulled back on that for the time being.
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