T-Mobile has been making impressive progress on carrier aggregation 5G SA over the last couple of years. Without mmWave, it has hit up to 3.3 Gbps download speeds. Now the Uncarrier says using mmWave, its 5G SA can deliver a whopping 4.3 Gbps for download performance.
As a refresher, T-Mobile launched its 5G Standalone (SA) Ultra Capacity coverage back in November 2022, the first US carrier to do so with speeds up to 3 Gbps via three-carrier aggregation.
But it wasn’t until iOS 16.4 in March 2023 that 5G SA support arrived for iPhone:
Now T-Mobile has shared the results of its latest 5G SA test that utilizes mmWave spectrum. The company shared the details in a press release:
T-Mobile announced today it achieved another 5G U.S. first in a test that leveraged 5G standalone millimeter wave (mmWave) on its production network. Working with Ericsson and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., the Un-carrier aggregated eight channels of mmWave spectrum to reach download speeds topping 4.3 Gbps without relying on low-band or mid-band spectrum to anchor the connection. T-Mobile also aggregated four channels of mmWave spectrum on the uplink, reaching speeds above 420 Mbps.
T-Mobile highlights the weakness of mmWave and that using it for 5G SA will be best suited for crowded spaces like stadiums or fixed wireless (5G home internet).
5G mmWave can deliver incredibly fast speeds because it offers massive capacity. But the signal doesn’t travel very well through obstacles, making it less ideal for mobile phone users who aren’t sitting still. That’s why T-Mobile has implemented a multi-band spectrum strategy using low-band to blanket the country and mid-band and high-band (Ultra Capacity) to deliver insanely fast speeds to nearly everyone. Now the Un-carrier is testing 5G mmWave on 5G SA for crowded areas like stadiums and, potentially, for fixed wireless service.
Merging eight channels of spectrum is a notable jump as T-Mobile’s previous carrier aggregation has used three or four channels. And the new record test download speed of 4.3 Gbps is impressive.
It’s unclear when (and where) T-Mobile customers will be able to use the new 4+ Gbps download speeds. But two of the most likely spaces could be the Uncarrier’s arena in Las Vegas and T-Mobile Park in Seattle. We’ll also keep an eye out for T-Mobile announcements for mmWave 5G SA coming to its 5G home internet customers.
Big picture, it’s good to remember that while these superfast connections – even the 3 Gbps speeds that are currently available – are quite limited for now.
While T-Mobile leads handily for performance compared to Verizon and AT&T, the latest independent study from Ookla puts the median 5G performance of T-Mobile at 221 Mbps.
