T-Mobile rolls out 5G Advanced across US

T-Mobile has announced that it is the first wireless network in the US to reach a critical milestone with America’s first nationwide 5G-Advanced network, built on the industry’s only 5G Standalone (5G SA) architecture.

5G-Advanced networks are designed to offer clear performance upgrades and support new use cases compared with the first iterations of 5G, and it is the first mobile network standard specifically built to take advantage of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and network energy savings for a fully automated network and a sustainable future.

AI and ML will become essential for future networks, given the predicted rapid growth in network usage and use case complexities that can’t be managed by legacy optimisation approaches with presumed models. System-level network energy saving is also a critical aspect, with operators needing to reduce the deployment cost but ensure network performance for various use cases.

5G-Advanced is also engineered to bring more capabilities to enable wider use cases and enhance radio performance to a new level, driving enhanced network performance towards higher bandwidth, lower latency and greater reliability. Such networks also promise to offer improved support for applications such as extended reality (XR) and promise monetary opportunities to consumer markets, with applications in gaming, video streaming, remote working and virtual training.

As shown at the 2024 edition of the MWC Asia event in Shanghai, the 5G-Advanced ecosystem is up and running, with the operator community being joined by communications tech and infrastructure giants, and a burgeoning number of AI developers looking to cash in.

In making its launch, T-Mobile noted that modern wireless applications require high throughput, low latency and consistency across geographic areas. In short, it believes that a nationwide 5G-Advanced network is critical to unlocking 5G’s full potential. Moreover, T-Mobile was adamant that given it had built its 5G network from the outset with the foundational pieces to reach this moment, only its customers can harness the full power of 5G-Advanced in the US, while other carriers “lag half a generation behind”, slowly rolling out the necessary 5G standalone architecture that is essential for 5G-Advanced.

The result, said the operator, is that users can now tap into more immersive applications such as XR, seamless cloud gaming, interactive live events, smart home integrations, innovative wearables and highly accurate enhanced location services, among many other possibilities.

In addition, T-Mobile believes that 5G-Advanced will ultimately be judged on the experiences it brings to life for consumers and businesses alike. Specifically, it believes that such experiences can be categorised into four pillars – enhanced and enriched experiences, intent-based experiences, AI experiences and pervasive experiences.

Looking at internet-based experiences, T-Mobile said unpredictability has always posed a challenge for wireless networks and that network performance can vary significantly depending on how busy it is. Even though it argued that for most businesses, even a busy network delivers a strong experience, it accepted that the inherent unpredictability has prevented wireless networks from being seriously considered for many specialised or mission-critical applications. It said 5G-Advanced changes the equation, and through network slicing, T-Mobile can create a highly consistent network experience.

“At T-Mobile, our vision for 5G-Advanced is not defined by a single moment, but by our continuous commitment to adapt and evolve,” said Ulf Ewaldsson, president of technology at T-Mobile. “Our 5G-Advanced journey is already underway – we’re not just adopting technologies; we’re actively shaping them to deliver more meaningful experiences for our customers.”