T-Mobile executives gloated during their fourth-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, saying 2021 was the “strongest year ever.” The carrier that was once at the back of the pack is now hitting its stride in the 5G/post-Sprint era, exceeding expectations and adding 5.5 million postpaid net customers in 2021.
To be sure, T-Mobile’s revenue and subscriber gains were front and center during the earnings call, along with its 5G network buildout milestones. Executives also fielded questions about their plans for more aggressively competing against cable in the home internet space, an area where T-Mobile historically hasn’t ventured.
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But wireless carriers’ plans for C-band deployments, especially around airports, has dominated headlines across the country for weeks as aviation officials raised red flags. Verizon and AT&T were at the brunt of the controversy; they, after all, purchased the lion’s share of C-band spectrum. But T-Mobile also bought C-band spectrum, and CEO Mike Sievert was asked about the dispute with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
“It would be awfully tempting to sit on the outside of a controversy like that and take pot shots, but honestly, we think that in the final analysis, after the work has been done, the studies have been completed, we think the wireless industry — AT&T, Verizon, the FCC positions — will be validated. We think they’re right,” Sievert said.
“These are different frequencies than what radio altimeters operate in and a properly functioning radio altimeter I think will ultimately be shown not to be interfered with by C-band,” he said.
He also expressed some thoughts that some in the wireless industry have been saying for a while now, and that’s the tendency for reports to equate the C-band with broader 5G services. “I regret that this has been so widely reported as a 5G issue,” Sievert said, adding that it would be nice if the reports included the fact that T-Mobile’s nationwide 5G coverage uses another spectrum band and has nothing to do with this controversy. “But that doesn’t really sell page views,” he quipped.
“Obviously, we take an interest in this because we hope to deploy C-band down the road,” he said. “We’re not in a rush, but to me, that’s very important.” If it’s found that some old or faulty radio altimeters are picking up stray signals, those will be dealt with. But “I, for one, would prefer to have a world where there aren’t old and faulty radio altimeters out there.”
Even though it wasn’t a big spender in the auction, T-Mobile was heavily involved in the FCC process that led up to the C-band being made available for 5G. Early on, it presented its suggestions for how an auction of the spectrum should be structured – years before it went to auction and cleared by satellite players.
T-Mobile’s C-band + 3.45 GHz
The C-band spectrum could be construed as icing on top of T-Mobile’s layered spectrum cake, which includes a sizable portion of mid-band spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band acquired from Sprint. But it also recently picked up 3.45 GHz spectrum, investing $3 billion for an average of 21 MHz of the mid-band spectrum in areas that cover 184 million people across the U.S.
RELATED: T‑Mobile, UScellular tout their 3.45 GHz spectrum
T-Mobile purchased spectrum in the 3.45 GHz auction in urban and suburban areas where it mostly aligns with its C-band purchases and where it’s well-suited to the density of its network grid, Sievert said.
The 3.45 GHz spectrum is a great addition to the company, but it’s a new band for wireless, and it does have some complexity and coordination with the Department of Defense (DoD) to navigate, so that takes some time, said T-Mobile President of Technology Neville Ray.
“The radio infrastructure is new, so that has to be brought on and made available,” Ray said. The supply chain can play role with 3.45 GHz as well, although he didn’t elaborate.
In addition, handsets and devices are an issue. “We see kind of from the major OEMs availability on devices in this band — tail end of this year, early next,” so for T-Mobile, “our plan is to look at starting deployment of that [Auction] 110 spectrum in ’23, in conjunction with the C-band spectrum that we purchased last year,” he said.
“That’s a one and done for us,” he said, noting that’s a single radio, “unlike the AT&T approach you’ve heard about, which is two radios kind of integrated together.” For T-Mobile, “we’re looking to deploy the spectrum at the perfect time, as we move into ’23. So very pleased with the outcome there.”
RELATED: AT&T plans to deploy 3.45 GHz, C-band with ‘one-climb’ tower strategy
As for the target for reaching a population of 260 million with Ultra Capacity 5G (using mid-band and millimeter wave spectrum) by the end of 2022 and 300 million by the end of 2023, “nobody’s more excited about those numbers than me,” Ray said. “That’s one hell of a footprint” as it looks to extend its 5G lead.
Asked about its population coverage targets and if T-Mobile is going to be using roaming partners, “I think they’re going to be very few and far between,” Ray said. “I think the question is … how many folks are going to be coming to T-Mobile and asking if they can roam on our great 5G,” he said.
For many years in 3G and 4G iterations, T-Mobile was the one without adequate coverage and it relied on regional and other carriers for roaming.
Now, it’s a different story. “It’s an organic build … I won’t say 100 percent but effectively, it’s a T-Mobile build,” Ray said.