T-Mobile again touted its plan to roll out a 5G network nationwide by 2020 while blasting the promises made by rival carriers AT&T and Verizon.
The question, however, is whether T-Mobile is actually ahead in the 5G race for the Un-Carrier to be making claims that the plans of AT&T and Verizon are nothing more than "hype."
T-Mobile Recommits To Nationwide 5G Network By 2020
At CES 2018, AT&T claimed that it will be the first carrier to launch a 5G service in the United States, with a plan to roll out the network by late 2018. This follows statements made by Verizon in November 2017 about its plan to launch wireless 5G residential broadband services in five cities before the end of this year.
However, T-Mobile's CTO, Neville Ray, blasted the strategies put forward by AT&T and Verizon. Ray criticized AT&T's plan to roll out 5G in late 2018 as it offered no specific details, then added that Verizon's plan to launch a pre-standards 5G service will not work with 5G smartphones once they arrive in the market.
Ray claimed that "T-Mobile is STILL the ONLY wireless company committed to deploying a nationwide 5G network," starting with 600 MHz in 2019 and then nationwide in 2020.
Is T-Mobile Leading The 5G Race?
T-Mobile, led by its colorful CEO John Legere, has never been shy in launching punches at its rivals. The statement by Ray criticizes certain elements of the 5G plans of AT&T and Verizon while underscoring the general consensus from CES 2018 that 5G chips compliant to industry standards are in development, but will not launch until early 2019 at the earliest.
However, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile have all not revealed in detail how and when their 5G network will launch. The three carriers announced limited real-world application of 5G technology coming soon, followed by a vague promise that a full 5G network will be released afterward.
Looking at their plans and promises, it would appear that while AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile have different approaches in developing their 5G networks, none of them have an actual advantage over the other. Unfortunately, T-Mobile is the only one that is trying to discredit the efforts of its rival carriers.
Customers should simply ignore everything that is happening behind the scenes in the 5G race. The only thing that matters for users is when a 5G-compatible smartphone launches an active 5G network established by a carrier.
Given the importance of the technology to the industry's future, being the first to launch a 5G network does not really hold much weight.
