5G SALE Act signed by Biden allows T-Mobile to take control of more mid-band 2.5GHz spectrum

5G SALE Act signed by Biden allows T-Mobile to take control of more mid-band 2.5GHz spectrum،

With the Senate and House passing the law, it was up to President Joe Biden to sign it, which he has now done. Accordingly, the FCC has temporary authorization to transfer to T Mobile 2.5 GHz licenses. However, some are grumbling because the 5G SALE Act only offers the FCC a temporary reprieve and does not fully restore the FCC's long-term auction authority.

T Mobile and other companies and organizations involved in the wireless industry have demanded that Congress return the FCC's long-term auction authority. For example, Patrick Halley, president and CEO of the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA), made a statement after Biden signed the 5G SALE Act that not only covered his thoughts on T Mobile be able to obtain its 2.5 GHz licenses, but also went beyond with the FCC's long-term auction authority.

T-Mobile coverage map as of late October - 5G SALE law signed by Biden allows T-Mobile to take control of more of the 2.5 GHz mid-band spectrum

T-Mobile coverage map as of end of October

Halley said, “While I appreciate that rightful winners of 2.5 GHz licenses will no longer be held hostage, it is imperative that Congress restore the FCC's auction authority with a long-term reauthorization term. communications and puts us behind China and other global competitors. »

T Mobile's 5G service is based on the 2.5 GHz mid-band spectrum. The operator uses its low-band 600 MHz radio waves for its nationwide Extended Range 5G (XR) service, as these signals can travel long distances. However, low-band 5G signals typically operate only slightly faster than 4G LTE, between 30 Mbps and 75 Mbps. T Mobile uses its 2.5 GHz spectrum with high-band mmWave spectrum to T Mobile5G Ultra Capacity (UC) service. The latter offers data download speeds as fast as 300 Mbps.