A few days after Samsung officially launched its newest flagship devices (the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus phablets), T-Mobile has begun rolling out its initial LTE-U service. Apart from being the hottest smartphones currently out in the market right now, the latest additions to the Galaxy lineup happen to be the first handsets to come with support for LTE-U technology.
As explained by Neville Ray, the chief technical officer of T-Mobile, during the wireless carrier’s first quarter conference call this week, the company is now commencing the deployment of LTE-U in a number of locations across the United States. Ray, however, noted that together with the initial roll outs, there is still plenty of testing going on especially in outdoor settings. Looking into the bigger picture, Ray is confident that the deployment of LTE-U, as well as LAA tech in the next couple of years, should further expand the capacity and improve the capability of T-Mobile’s network before the end of the decade.
With T-Mobile’s LTE-U tech, mobile users, especially those who own Galaxy S8 devices, will be able to take full advantage of the first 20 MegaHertz of unused and unlicensed 5 GigaHertz airwaves. Moreover, the LTE-U service will be leveraging the underutilized channels and then switch back and forth in order to find airwaves that are less congested. The result is that streams are made more faster and more efficient, with traffic jams significantly minimized. T-Mobile has also stated that customers will be able to tap into the AWS-3 spectrum, which the carrier says is even faster.
During the conference call, Ray was also asked about his thoughts on 2.5 GigaHertz airwaves, which rival Sprint has in abundance. According to the T-Mobile executive, the most relevant topic related to that spectrum is High Performance User Equipment (HPUE) technology. Per Sprint, this phone based wireless tech will allow the carrier to enhance its existing 2.5 GigaHertz coverage by up to 30 percent, including indoor settings. Some may remember that more than a month ago, Sprint had highlighted how LG’s flagship device, the G6, gets the distinction of being the first handset to be compatible with HPUE tech.
Despite some talk that the HPUE tech closes the gap between 2.5 GigaHertz spectrum and midband airwaves, he does not believe that future 5G networks will solely rely on 2.5 GigaHertz. According to him, if 5G is to reach its full potential, then it will need to be in all types of bands (low, mid, and high).
from
https://www.wirefly.com/blog/news/t-mobile-starts-rolling-out-lte-u-technology