New York, NY (July 21, 2017)—Pro-audio RF wranglers and wireless users may be in for a surprise next month, as T-Mobile announced yesterday that it will make its first in-roads into 600 MHz next month, far head of the original FCC-based transition timeline of 39 months from now, and even ahead of T-Mobile’s news earlier this week that it planned to enter the space by Halloween.
The FCC permits the new licensees to displace “protected” low power TV and translator stations with just 120 days’ notice, and incumbents are already receiving notification letters from T-Mobile. However, while the company plans to fire up its first 600 MHz sites in August, there’s no specifics available yet as to where those sites are in fact located.
The announcement came Thursday as part of the company’s Q2 2017 earnings release, and signaled that the mobile provider plans to make get down to business in the 600 MHz range immediately. In 2017 alone, the company will clear and prep for use a minimum of 10 MHz, covering 1.2 million square miles.
Looking to start making the most of its investment earlier this year when it bought up spectrum in the FCC’s Incentive Auction, T-Mobile will offer its customers 600 MHz-compatible phones in Q4, it reported, and announced further plans to create a 5G network in the newly acquired spectrum within two years.
