T-Mobile's CNO explains why he thinks uplink is under appreciated
Similar to adding more lanes to a single-lane highway heading toward a cell tower from your device, uplink carrier aggregation combines multiple, separate blocks of spectrum into one larger single channel. And just like when you add that second lane to the one-lane highway, uplink carrier aggregation allows for a big increase in traffic and faster speed. T-Mobile has the perfect combination of spectrum to support uplink carrier aggregation with its 600 MHz, 2.5 GHz, AWS and PCS bands. This allows the carrier to have the coverage advantage of low band (600MHz) and the high-capacity capabilities of mid-band (2.5GHz, AWS, PCS).
Just so you understand, there is also downlink carrier aggregation that adds more lanes to a single-highway heading away from the cell tower to your device. But returning to uplink, T-Mobile has already launched 5G-Advanced Uplink Tx Switching for the iPhone 17 series. This allows a phone in the iPhone 17 series to switch between bands and carriers to find the best path for uploading. While this improves upload speeds when iPhone 17 users are gaming, uploading large files, or live streaming, Kapoor happily points out, "That, globally, only T-Mobile has it right now."
T-Mobile was the first U.S. carrier ti have a 5G Standalone network
T-Mobile's CNO says of uplink, "I think it’s one of most under-talked topics of the industry. He says that because it impacts 5G smartwatches that are hitting the market with Redcap functionality. Kapoor says that these days children are getting smartwatches before they get a smartphone. The CNO says that with a 5G smartwatch on a kid's wrist, a parent will be able to track the location of his/her child.
Some of the features coming to T-Mobile's 5G-Advanced. | Image credit-T-Mobile
T-Mobile was the first U.S. carrier to have a 5G Standalone (5G SA) network. These are networks built with a 5G core and were never used for 4G LTE wireless service. Besides being able to offer 5G-Advanced services, 5G SA networks offer other capabilities such as Network Slicing. This is when a network is virtually sliced up into individual slices with custom features created for certain users. For example, a virtual network slice with low latency could be created for robots, a remote operating room, or for autonomous driving. A slice with high capacity would be great for video streamers.
Kapoor says that next year, T-Mobile will add more 3-way Tx switching for other devices (besides the iPhone 17 line). Early next year it will launch dynamic network slicing. This is an interesting concept because it will allow T-Mobile customers to create customized end-to-end slices on the T-Mobile network and pay for it with their credit card.
AT&T, Verizon have plenty of catching up to do
AT&T and Verizon have some catching up to do as they both just launched their nationwide 5G SA cores this fall. Boost Mobile was building a 5G SA network as it planned to be the nation's fourth facilities-based carrier. But with financial issues impacting Boost parent EchoStar, Boost's spectrum was sold off and the company shut down the 5G SA project. Boost is now mostly using AT&T's network with some service being handled by T-Mobile.
Are you looking forward to using T-Mobile's new 2026 5G-Advanced features?
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It sounds like 2026 is going to be an exciting year for T-Mobile customers as the carrier works to make a half-dozen new 5G-Advanced features something that most T-Mobile subscribers can use to improve their wireless experience.
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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