T-Mobile wireless network
The largest mid-band 5G footprint in the US, courtesy of the 2020 Sprint acquisition. Aggressive MVNO ecosystem (Mint, Metro, Google Fi, Tello, Lyca, Ting).
Quick facts
| Type | Mobile Network Operator (MNO) — owns spectrum and towers |
|---|---|
| 5G branding | 5G UC (Ultra Capacity) for mid-band, 5G for low-band |
| 5G launch | 2019 (low-band), 2020 (mid-band post-Sprint merger) |
| Plans on this network | 21 in our database |
| Cheapest plan | Tello 2GB Plus Talk — $10.00/mo |
Spectrum tiers
The T-Mobile network operates across three frequency tiers, each with its own reach-vs-speed trade-off. See our 5G primer for what these mean in practice.
| Low-band | n71 (600 MHz), n12 (700 MHz) — broad reach, modest speeds (50–200 Mbps) |
|---|---|
| Mid-band | n41 (2.5 GHz, ex-Sprint), n25 (1.9 GHz) — ~1 mile reach, fast speeds (200–700 Mbps) |
| mmWave | n258 (24 GHz), n260 (39 GHz), n261 (28 GHz) — limited — line-of-sight only, gigabit speeds |
Carriers and MVNOs riding this network
All 7 active brands in our database that use T-Mobile's towers and spectrum. Carrier-owned brands sit higher in the deprioritization queue during congestion than third-party MVNOs.
- T-Mobile (MNO — owns the network)
- Google Fi (MVNO)
- Lycamobile (MVNO)
- Metro by T-Mobile (MVNO)
- Mint Mobile (MVNO)
- Tello (MVNO)
- Ting (MVNO)