T-Mobile advances 5G standalone for improved speed and performance

BARCELONA, Spain – T-Mobile has aggregated four channels of mid-band spectrum on its 5G standalone (5G SA) network with the Samsung Galaxy S23, working with Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and Samsung. The Un-carrier also expanded VoNR to four new cities: Cincinnati, OH; New Orleans, LA; New York, NY; and Seattle, WA.

Why it matters: 5G SA is the future of wireless, delivering a whole new level of performance – faster speeds and lower latency (improved response times). 5G carrier aggregation allows T-Mobile to turbo-charge 5G SA speeds, giving T-Mobile customers a game-changing performance boost while VoNR ensures a seamless 5G SA connection.

Who it's for: T-Mobile 5G customers nationwide.

The Un-carrier doesn't stop at best. In a keynote at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today, President of Technology Neville Ray explained how T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) is taking its nationwide 5G SA network — the only in the U.S. — to the next level. Ray announced that T-Mobile achieved the world's first four-carrier aggregation data call on its 5G SA network with a commercial device, reaching speeds above 3.3 Gbps. Ray also unveiled the Un-carrier has deployed VoNR service in four additional cities and plans to cover 100 million people with VoNR in the coming months.

Four-Carrier Aggregation

5G carrier aggregation allows T-Mobile to combine multiple 5G channels (or carriers) to deliver greater speed and performance. In this test, the Un-carrier merged four 5G channels of mid-band spectrum – two channels of 2.5 GHz Ultra Capacity 5G and two channels of 1900 MHz spectrum – creating an effective 225 MHz 5G channel. That's like taking four separate highways and turning them into a massive superhighway where traffic can zoom faster than before. Customers with the Samsung Galaxy S23 will be among the first to experience four-carrier aggregation later this year with more devices to follow.

VoNR

With VoNR, T-Mobile is moving voice traffic to 5G so customers stay consistently connected to 5G. In the near-term, customers connected to VoNR may notice slightly faster call set-up times, meaning less delay between the time they dial a number and when the phone starts ringing. But VoNR is about more than just a better calling experience. Most importantly, VoNR brings T-Mobile one step closer to truly unleashing its 5G SA network because it enables advanced capabilities like network slicing that rely on a continuous connection to a 5G core. Today VoNR is now live in six cities – Cincinnati, OH; New Orleans, LA; New York, NY; Portland, OR; Salt Lake City, UT; and Seattle, WA – and the Un-carrier will expand this technology to additional cities covering more than 100 million people in the coming months.

T-Mobile is the leader in 5G, delivering the country's largest, fastest and most reliable 5G network. The Un-carrier's 5G network covers 325 million people across 1.9 million square miles – more than AT&T and Verizon combined. 265 million people nationwide are covered by T-Mobile's super-fast Ultra Capacity 5G, and the Un-carrier plans to reach 300 million people with Ultra Capacity this year – nearly everyone in the country.

Read the full press release here.

T-Mobile