While gigabit speeds have been theoretically attainable in the US long before 5G became a commercial reality, it's still not easy to break the 1Gbps barrier in real-life use on a casual stroll around town.
In contrast, Sprint's mid-band 5G signal is not hindered by such obstacles, traveling pretty far although not quite as far as T-Mobile's nationwide low-band technology. Together, many industry pundits and market analysts had expected these two to strike the perfect balance between coverage and speed, and while "New T-Mobile's" integration efforts are barely getting started, the early tests are considerably more encouraging than anyone could have anticipated.
That psychological barrier came tumbling down in recent speed tests conducted by at least two different people, including one non-T-Mobile-employee. Of course, it's safe to assume average speeds are in fact significantly lower than that in Manhattan, where these results were recorded. In addition to that, the real-life numbers are likely to drop as more and more users start connecting to the budding network.
Well that was unexpected... Just two weeks after the 2.5GHz NYC launch, @TMobile upgrades the NR bandwidth from 40 to 60MHz! NR spectral efficiency further improves... 1.2Gbps. pic.twitter.com/wDZBB6Ml4X
But this remains a monumental achievement on T-Mobile's part, far exceeding what Sprint was able to squeeze out of its mid-band 2.5GHz spectrum. We're talking a soon-to-be-discontinued network with an average nationwide 5G download speed of a little over 110 Mbps between January 31 and April 30, according to an in-depth OpenSignal report published just yesterday.
The same report produced an average score of more than 500 Mbps for Verizon, but Big Red's 5G network still has a huge availability problem that can only be solved by massively reducing those mind-blowing speeds.
Plenty of room for improvement in some places
Meanwhile, T-Mobile's 5G speeds are... frankly embarrassing in many cities (not to mention rural areas), but with the help of mid-band technology, it looks like those scores might increase by a lot more than previously expected.
In case you're wondering, yes, Magenta's incredible feat was achieved without employing any mmWave spectrum, which is the core of Verizon's flawed 5G strategy while sitting at the top of New T-Mobile's so-called "layer cake." Said "cake" will be gradually served to NYC residents in the next weeks, which guarantees even higher download speeds in certain parts of "The Big Apple."
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More importantly, T-Mobile's amazing (and amazingly early) work integrating Sprint's mid-band 5G spectrum makes the dream of an ultra-high-speed cellular network for the masses suddenly feel like a realistic short-term hope in the US. We're still talking many months, possibly years here, but it's definitely nice to see exceptional download speeds are not synonymous with mmWave technology.
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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