T-Mobile's 'Ultra Capacity' 5G Now Covers 200 Million People

T-Mobile today announced that its high-speed "Ultra Capacity 5G" is now available to 200 million people across the United States, with the carrier hitting the milestone weeks ahead of schedule.

tmobilelogo
Ultra Capacity 5G is T-Mobile's higher-speed 5G network that's faster than the Extended Range 5G network that covers 308 million T-Mobile customers. While Extended Range 5G offers LTE-like speeds, Ultra Capacity 5G is more capable.

T-Mobile initially planned to cover 200 million people by the end of 2021, and has met that goal early. As noted by The Verge, this is a theoretical maximum based on the coverage that T-Mobile offers. In reality, T-Mobile has just over 100 million subscribers, not all of whom will be able to access the 5G speeds due to location or device limitations.

T-Mobile's Ultra Capacity 5G largely relies on mid-band 2.5GHz spectrum rather than the mmWave 5G spectrum used by other carriers like AT&T and Verizon. As T-Mobile explains in the press release announcing the coverage, the company aimed for mid-band spectrum to bring 5G speeds to the maximum number of people, and T-Mobile has been rolling out the 2.5GHz spectrum since it acquired Sprint.

Faster mmWave 5G speeds from AT&T and Verizon are largely limited to select areas in major cities, though both carriers have slower sub-6GHz 5G coverage available as well. AT&T and Verizon were planning on rolling out mid-band spectrum starting this year, but their plans have been delayed due to the FAA's concerns about aircraft interference.

T-Mobile's focus on mid-band spectrum is the reason why T-Mobile was the fastest 5G carrier in the United States in PCMag's annual test. T-Mobile's wider coverage allowed the carrier to achieve the highest average speeds of 162.3Mb/s, beating out AT&T and Verizon. Verizon had the fastest speeds overall, but its coverage was much more limited due to the current lack of mid-band spectrum and the limited availability of its mmWave speeds.

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 2 Redux

Top 5 Apple Products to Look Forward to in 2025

Friday December 20, 2024 2:22 pm PST by
It's looking like 2025 is going to be an important year for Apple, with the company planning to revamp the iPhone, push further into smart home products, and improve Apple Intelligence. There are tons of new products rumored for 2025, including new iPhones, M4 Macs, a smart home command center, and much more. We've highlighted the top five Apple products that will have the biggest impact in...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...

Top Rated Comments

colbertnation Avatar
41 months ago
On iPhone 13 Pro, and the latency (is that the correct word for the time it takes for the Internet connection to be established?) I have with T-Mobile 5G/5G UC is insane.

It takes several seconds to start an internet connection it seems. A simple Google search or Weather app update can take several seconds for data to be received/refreshed. Once it has connected, it's fast. But very unstable... what's the point when I have to force it to go into LTE for a slower but at least stable connection?

(and yes, tried resetting, calling T-mobile, turning off/on, etc.)
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chrjy Avatar
41 months ago
I always see these type of figures from networks ever since 3G rolled out so how come I rarely see this milestone no matter where I go? And if I do come across it, it's like 1 bar and so I have to try and find myself the lower version which is 4-5 bars and way quicker! It's been the same with 3G, 4G and now 5G.....:rolleyes:
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tigres Avatar
41 months ago
Been overly impressed with T-Mobile for years now. In SW Florida I consistently get >400 Mps down, faster than my home wifi. 175 for 4 lines and all in with free this and that, how can one complain.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Acidsplat Avatar
41 months ago
I switched from T-Mobile to Verizon because the coverage in West Hollywood was so garbage
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jayducharme Avatar
41 months ago
Ultra Capacity 5G is T-Mobile's higher-speed 5G network that's faster than the Extended Range 5G network that covers 308 million T-Mobile customers.
I'm confused. The US supposedly has about 350 million people. How can T-Mobile have 308 million customers? Or is that just worded strangely? The article goes on to say that in actuality T-Mobile has closer to 100 million customers.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BornAgainMac Avatar
41 months ago
Was there any truth about 5G not being safe? Heard about it a few years ago but I have heard nothing and my area is full of 5G gamma rays.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)