T-Mobile is taking the first step in adding the spectrum to its Ultra Capacity 5G service that it won in an FCC auction two years ago. During the next few days, the carrier says that it will activate spectrum covering almost 60 million people in areas of almost 300,000 square miles.
The spectrum was won in FCC Auction 108. It is the 2.5 GHz mid-band range, which is considered to offer an optimal balance between speed and coverage. Ultra Capacity is T-Mobile’s branding for service that operates in this band.
The company will activate more spectrum as new towers are built.
The new spectrum will both bring service to previously unserved areas and boost coverage where Ultra Capacity 5G already is available. The new spectrum eventually will serve an area covering more than 80 million people, T-Mobile announced today.
“Thanks to years of planning, T-Mobile is ready to put this spectrum to use right now for millions of our customers, delivering game changing Ultra Capacity 5G to more people and increasing speed and performance for others,” T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said in a press release.
The spectrum auction was conducted in 2022. T-Mobile invested $304 million in the auction and obtained more than 7,000 county-based licenses, the majority of which are in rural areas. T-Mobile said that it has licenses in every U.S. county.
