T-Mobile US – which launched 600MHz 5G connectivity in December 2019 – has confirmed that it deployed a total of 1,600 5G cell sites in Q1 2020, before adding a further 1,000 sites in April 2020. The 600MHz 5G network is now live in 49 states and Puerto Rico, with Alaska set to launch in May 2020. In total it covers 215 million people in almost 6,000 cities and towns across the US. Recent launch locations include Detroit, St. Louis, Columbus and the Bay Area. The mobile giant has also started to deploy 5G sites in Philadelphia and New York City using 2.5GHz mid-band spectrum belonging to recently acquired rival Sprint.
With reference to the integration of the Sprint network – following the 1 April conclusion of the two companies’ long-running merger – T-Mobile notes that it has significantly expanded network access for Sprint customers by enabling more than 65,000 towers for low and mid-band roaming. Already, T-Mobile says that over ten million Sprint customers are utilising the T-Mobile network on a weekly basis. In addition, more than 80% of Sprint post-paid customers have handsets that are compatible with the T-Mobile network today.