By the end of next year, T-Mobile will cover 97 percent of Americans with 5G

During its virtual analyst event today, T-Mobile outlined some daring plans for expanding its 5G coverage and speeding up the current offering. The company says it will cover 90 percent of Americans (about 300 million) by the end of 2023 with what it calls Ultra Capacity 5G (its faster mid-range and mmWave service). It also plans to cover 97 percent of Americans (about 320 million) by the end of 2022 with its slower low-band 5G, which he calls extended range. Currently, 125 million are covered by Ultra Capacity, and the expanded range covers 287 million.

In addition, those currently covered by Ultra Capacity 5G will see an increase in average speeds from 300 Mbps to 400 Mbps, thanks to extra megahertz devoted to 5G, and T-Mobile says more speed hikes are on the way. This portion of T-Mobile’s 5G service is largely based on the spectrum gained from the Sprint merger, with mid-band frequencies suited for faster speeds and broad coverage.

T-Mobile has already had access to mid-band frequencies to take a less aggressive approach to the recent FCC-C band auction, which it celebrated during its investor call today. T-Mobile says its relatively low bid of $ 9.3 billion (Verizon and AT&T offer $ 45.4 and $ 23.4 million, respectively) to spectrum that would strategically complement its current 2.5 GHz holdings. These frequencies will be available in 2023 and are likely to be the last part of the company’s aggressive expansion plans.