In 2024, we are well into the 5G era of wireless with nearly every new phone shipping with multiple flavors of the technology by default. Whether it’s a cheaper $200 budget phone or a $1,000-plus flagship, your new phone likely will support 5G, regardless of which carrier you use it on.
That isn’t to say understanding 5G is simple. Like with so many things from the carriers, branding and marketing play a major role. You’ve probably heard terms like 5G, 5GE, 5G UW, 5G Plus and 5G UC.
We’ve broken them all down here but as we have seen plenty of questions on T-Mobile’s offerings, here’s a quick understanding of what it’s doing. In short, T-Mobile has a couple of flavors of next-gen wireless service, a wide-coverage 5G (sometimes called “Extended Range 5G”) and a faster, but not as far-reaching 5G Ultra Capacity (or 5G UC).
Here’s what they mean.
Read more: Our picks for the best T-Mobile plans
5G Extended Range: The foundation
When T-Mobile first introduced its 5G network, it utilized far-reaching low-band spectrum to blanket much of the country. This is a foundational layer and what the carrier indicates on devices as simply “5G.”
It’s not necessarily significantly faster on its own than 4G LTE, but it could have a boost compared to what you may have experienced with 4G.
5G UC: Where the speed happens
The T-Mobile 5G UC icon.
T-Mobile’s fastest flavors of 5G are identified as “5G UC” or “5G Ultra Capacity.” Utilizing the carrier’s higher frequency midband and millimeter-wave spectrum, this doesn’t necessarily reach as far as the low-band version of 5G but it does often offer a significant speed and performance boost when you are connected to it.
T-Mobile today covers over 300 million people with its 5G UC network (largely with midband spectrum), and earlier this year the company bought up more midband airwaves to further boost the service, particularly in rural areas.
The 5G UC offering often has speeds that can rival a good home internet connection and is key for new T-Mobile products like its 5G Home Internet service.
I even wrote this piece using T-Mobile’s 5G Home Internet connected to its midband 5G UC network in New York. I’ve used this connection to stream movies and TV shows, hop on Zoom calls, and play video games online with friends and family.
In some areas, you may even connect to T-Mobile’s highest frequency millimeter-wave 5G, which can provide some of its fastest speeds, but unlike rivals like Verizon, this is less commonly deployed by T-Mobile. You’re more likely to connect to its midband 5G, which is where the carrier has focused most of its efforts.
Does T-Mobile charge for 5G?
Nope. Regardless of your plan, you can take advantage of either form of 5G, so long as it’s available in your area and you have a compatible device.
Again, most phones today sold directly from T-Mobile support its many varieties of 5G — particularly low-band and midband 5G — if you’re looking for a device that supports T-Mobile’s 5G UC option, in the specs under network or connectivity make sure it lists Band n41. This is T-Mobile’s 2.5GHz spectrum, which is the bedrock of its 5G UC footprint.
What is happening in the future?
Like its rivals AT&T and Verizon, T-Mobile is continuing to develop its 5G networks even in 2024. In recent years it has acquired some additional midband spectrum including C-band (the midband airwaves Verizon and AT&T rely on for their respective midband 5G networks) and has been deploying new technologies that can combine aspects of its many wireless spectrum holdings together to allow for much faster speeds (a process known as carrier aggregation).
Last year it announced it was doing four-channel carrier aggregation, combining some channels of its midband and low-band 5G together to create a stronger signal. T-Mobile described it as “taking four separate highways and turning them into a massive superhighway where traffic can zoom faster than before” that could yield speeds over 3.3Gbps.
Earlier this year it revealed that it is now working on six-channel carrier aggregation that could allow for even faster speeds.
To take advantage of these fastest technologies, however, you likely will need a more powerful device with newer features often reserved for the latest devices that support new modems. T-Mobile has offered some carrier aggregation capabilities going back to the iPhone 13 series and has supported four-channel aggregation on a variety of recent devices like the iPhone 15 series, Samsung’s Galaxy S23 and S24 lines, Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5 as well as Google’s Pixel 8 line (including the new, more affordable Pixel 8A).
This post was originally published on the 3rd party mentioned in the title ofthis site
