T-Mobile (TMUS) said last month it achieved a nationwide 5G network because, rather than using high-band spectrum, T-Mobile used mostly lower frequency airwaves to build its network. Those signals cover much wider areas and are better at traveling through walls and trees, but "low-band spectrum" doesn't provide the dramatic benefits we think of when we think of 5G.
For now, T-Mobile's 5G network provides, on average, a 20% increase in download speeds compared to 4G LTE, according to a company spokesperson. That's a stark difference from the 100 times-faster-than-4G speeds on high frequency 5G networks.
Don't hold your breath. And consider this: is the difference between downloading a movie in a few minutes rather than less than a minute on the same scale as having some kind of telephone versus none at all? Progress, such as it is, really is just incremental improvement on amazing tectonic inventions of the late 19th and early 20th century. Moreover, this may well be the first time that 'invention' tries to flummox the laws of Nature.
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