T-Mobile’s 5G Download Speeds Aren’t Living up to the Company’s Promises

iPhone 12 at T Mobile Credit: Joni Hanebutt / Shutterstock
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T-Mobile is rolling out its 5G network rapidly, but not everyone is seeing the breakneck network speeds promised by the latest wireless technology.

A report by SDXCentral suggests 5G download speeds are only a fraction of what T-Mobile is promising publicly.

Speaking recently at the Citi 2021 Global TMT West Conference, T-Mobile’s President of Technology Neville Ray summarized the carrier’s 2020 efforts to rollout 5G. According to Ray, T-Mobile’s network covers more than 1.6 million square miles and 280 million people. Ray also claims that its 5G download speeds are closing in on 300Mb/s, which eclipses the 40Mb/s on the carrier’s 4G LTE network.

These speeds are not what customers see, according to recent speed tests by SDXCentral.

A speed test using an iPhone 12 Pro in Long Beach, California, logged a measly 0.85Mb/s while a subsequent test of T-Mobile’s 4G network recorded a very reasonable 47Mb/s. 5G speed tests on our devices peaked at 39.4Mb/s.

Ironically, Ray reportedly has criticized competing wireless carriers for the same underperformance now experienced by T-Mobile customers, claims SDXCentral.

T-Mobile is ahead of the game when it comes to its 5G rollout, beating both Verizon and AT&T in the number of people that its 5G network covers.

“Verizon, in the entire two years that they’ve been at this, have managed to accomplish [2 million pops covered by its high-capacity 5G network]. Just do the math, that means in 2021 we will do more covered pops on Ultra Capacity 5G per week than Verizon has done in the entire two years they’ve been at this.”

T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert at the Citi 2021 Global TMT West Conference

T-Mobile plans to continue rolling out its 5G network at a fast and furious pace throughout 2021. Only time will tell if it can ramp up its download speeds as well.

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