T-Mobile US signs 5G deals with Ericsson and Nokia

T-Mobile US signed new five-year, “multi-billion-dollar agreements” with both Ericsson and Nokia for the further expansion of its 5G network.

The self-styled “uncarrier” has been working with the two European vendors on 5G for some time, also signing $3.5 billion agreements with each of them in 2018. T-Mobile said last year that it will use 5G equipment from Nokia and Ericsson in its three-year, $43 billion network-upgrade project following its merger with Sprint.

Sprint was using kit from Ericsson and Nokia as well as Samsung before the merger with T-Mobile. However, Samsung seems to have been left out of T-Mobile’s 5G plan.

In a statement, T-Mobile said the two new deals form part of its network investment following the Sprint merger, and will enable it to add more 5G coverage, capacity, speed and “advanced technical capabilities” across all of its spectrum bands.

The operator said it aims to add capabilities such as voice-over-5G (VoNR), network slicing, and multi-user massive MIMO to its 5G network.

T-Mobile also confirmed that what it describes as “extended range 5G” in the 600MHz band now covers 280 million people across nearly 1.6 million square miles. What it terms “ultra capacity” 5G, using the 2.5GHz frequencies gained from Sprint, is said to be available in more than 1,000 cities and towns, covering more than 106 million people.

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