Why T-Mobile Is Touting Its 5G Connection in the 600 MHz Spectrum

T-Mobile said that it has successfully made the first 5G data connection in the 600 MHz spectrum. The operator, along with its vendor partner Nokia, said that the 5G connection was made in Spokane, Washington, and that it used equipment based upon the 3GPP 5G standard. Although other operators and vendors have made 5G data connections, those other connections occurred in higher spectrum bands and used millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum. T-Mobile has said it plans to launch 5G using the 600 MHz and 28 GHz mmWave spectrum bands next year. In July, the company signed a $3.5 billion deal with Nokia for 5G equipment including Nokia’s AirScale radio platform, cloud-native core, Airframe hardware, and CloudBand software.