T-Mobile has completely closed Sprint’s 2.5GHz mid-band 5G network as the company continues its efforts to merge Sprint’s network with its own after the historic merger of the two companies earlier this year. , through Fierce wireless.
The shutdown marks the end of a process that T-Mobile started earlier this year when it started to merge Sprint’s 5G spectrum holdings into its existing network, which started when T-Mobile closed Sprint’s existing 5G deployment in New York. and relaunched it as part of T-Mobile’s 5G network in April. T-Mobile also launched a new 2.5GHz 5G network in Philadelphia at the time, a city where Sprint had not yet offered 5G.
T-Mobile also announced Tuesday that Sprint networks in Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles have already been reactivated as T-Mobile spectrum. Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Kansas City, Phoenix and Washington, DC, which previously had Sprint 5G networks, have not yet been redeployed.
Integrating Sprint’s midband spectrum is a key part of T-Mobile’s 5G strategy, which aims to combine 600MHz lowband spectrum for wide 5G coverage nationwide with a faster but faster midband. Lower range (Sprint 2.5GHz network) and short range mmWave networks for a balance of coverage and speed.
Turning off the Sprint 5G network will leave owners of the first Sprint 5G phones using older Qualcomm X50 modems, including OnePlus 7 Pro 5G, Galaxy S10 5G, and LG V50 ThinQ 5G, in the lurch, as their phones don’t they are new enough to connect to the T-Mobile network. T-Mobile reportedly offers those customers replacement offers (which vary by device and payment plan details).
Newer devices featuring Qualcomm’s X55 modem, such as the Galaxy S20 5G line, will still be able to access 2.5GHz networks when relaunched as part of T-Mobile setup (along with the rest of the low band from T-Mobile and mmWave 5G spectrum).
