In 2024, the 5G era of wireless will be fully upon us, with nearly all new smartphones shipping with the technology by default. Whether you’re looking for a budget $200 smartphone or a flagship $1,000+ smartphone, and no matter what carrier you use, your new phone will likely support 5G.
That said, understanding 5G isn’t easy. As with many products from carriers, branding and marketing play a key role. You’ve probably heard terms like 5G, 5GE, 5G UW, 5G Plus, and 5G UC.
We’ve explained everything in detail here , but we’ve been getting a lot of questions about T-Mobile’s service, so here’s a quick rundown of what they’re doing: In a nutshell, T-Mobile has two types of next-generation wireless service: 5G, which has wide coverage (sometimes called “Extended Range 5G”), and 5G Ultra Capacity (or 5G UC), which has faster speeds but not as wide a reach.
Their meanings are as follows:
read more: A selection of the best T-Mobile plans
5G Extended Range: The Basics
When T-Mobile first rolled out its 5G network, it used a wide swath of low-band spectrum to cover much of the country — the foundational layer, what the carrier simply displays as “5G” on devices.
That won’t necessarily be significantly faster than 4G LTE, per se, but it could offer speeds that are better than what you’ve experienced with 4G.
5G UC: Where speed comes from
T-Mobile 5G UC icon.
T-Mobile’s fastest 5G is called “5G UC” or “5G Ultra Capacity,” and it utilizes the carrier’s higher-frequency mid-band and mmWave spectrum, so while it doesn’t necessarily reach as far as lower-band versions of 5G, it often offers significantly better speeds and performance when connected.
T-Mobile currently covers more than 300 million people with its 5G UC network (which uses mostly mid-band spectrum), and earlier this year it purchased additional mid-band airwaves to further strengthen its coverage, especially in rural areas.
5G UC services often have speeds that rival a good home internet connection, making them a key component of new T-Mobile products such as 5G Home Internet Service.
I wrote this article using T-Mobile’s 5G home internet connected to its mid-band 5G UC network in New York City. I used the connection to stream movies and TV shows, join Zoom calls, and play video games online with friends and family.
In some areas, you might be able to connect to T-Mobile’s highest-frequency mmWave 5G to get the fastest speeds, but unlike rivals like Verizon, T-Mobile hasn’t rolled that out much. You’re more likely to connect to mid-band 5G, which is what the carrier is pushing hardest.
Will T-Mobile charge for 5G?
No. Regardless of your plan, if 5G is available in your area and you have a compatible device, you can use both forms of 5G.
Again, most phones currently sold directly by T-Mobile support the company’s 5G variants (especially low- and mid-band 5G). If you’re looking for a device that supports T-Mobile’s 5G UC options, make sure the network or connection specifications mention Band n41. This is T-Mobile’s 2.5GHz spectrum, which is the foundation of the company’s 5G UC footprint.
What’s next?
Like rivals AT&T and Verizon, T-Mobile is still developing its 5G network, even as soon as 2024. In recent years, it has acquired additional mid-band spectrum, including the C-band (the mid-band airwaves that Verizon and AT&T use for their respective mid-band 5G networks), and has deployed new technologies that combine aspects of its many radio spectrum holdings to enable much faster speeds (a process known as carrier aggregation).
Last year, the company announced it would implement four-channel carrier aggregation, combining some of its mid- and low-band 5G channels to create a stronger signal that T-Mobile described as “turning four separate freeways into one giant superhighway where traffic can move faster than ever before,” enabling speeds of over 3.3Gbps.
The company said earlier this year that it was working on six-channel carrier aggregation that would enable even faster speeds.
However, to take advantage of these fastest technologies, you’ll likely need a more powerful device with new features that are often only found on newer devices that support newer modems. T-Mobile has offered carrier aggregation functionality dating back to the iPhone 13 series, and supports four-channel aggregation on a range of recent devices, including the iPhone 15 series, Samsung’s Galaxy S23 and S24 series, the Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5, and Google’s Pixel 8 series (including the new, more affordable Pixel 8A).
