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T-Mobile starts employing 600MHz spectrum won in FCC auction (UPDATE)

By Alan Friedman

Updated: Aug 16, 2017, 6:04 PM

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T-Mobile

Back last April, T-Mobile announced that it had won 45% of the 600MHz spectrum put up for auction by the FCC. That worked out to 31MHz of low-frequency airwaves won by the nation's third largest carrier for the amount of $7.9 billion. Low-frequency bands are in demand because they travel farther and penetrate buildings better than those of the high-frequency variation, which is why the process for the auction was fought in court for a period that stretched over two-years.

UPDATE: See a video of the first call made on 600MHz by clicking on the video at the top of the story. In addition, it is important to realize that while none of the carrier's current handsets support 600MHz, some flagship models from Samsung and LG will eventually support the spectrum before the end of the year.

After the auction, T-Mobile announced that before the end of the year, it would deploy some of the spectrum it had won. When the carrier announced that it planned to have some of the spectrum it won up and running this year, many rolled their eyes. The process of turning over ownership of spectrum normally takes up to two years. But with plans to deploy the airwaves at a "record-shattering pace," T-Mobile kept true to its promise today when it turned the key, stepped on the accelerator, and started up the 600MHz spectrum for use in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Other markets that will be receiving 600MHz spectrum this year include:

Wyoming
Northwest Oregon
West Texas
Southwest Kansas
the Oklahoma panhandle
Western North Dakota
Maine
Coastal North Carolina
Central Pennsylvania
Central Virginia
Eastern Washington

After deploying all of the new spectrum, T-Mobile's LTE signal will cover 321 million Americans, up from a current tally of 315 million.

"Earlier this month, wireless customers coast to coast proved T-Mobile already delivers America’s best unlimited network. We swept the competition in OpenSignal’s report on all counts—a global industry first. And that was before we started lighting up the world’s first 600 MHz LTE network."-John Legere, president and CEO, T-Mobile

"This team broke every record in the books with the speed of our 700 MHz LTE deployment, and we’re doing it again. T-Mobile is effectively executing in six months what would normally be a two-year process. We won’t stop … and we won’t slow down!"-Neville Ray, Chief Technology Officer, T-Mobile

source: T-Mobile

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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.

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