What you need to know
- T-Mobile has announced that it is expanding its network capacity across the U.S. for two months to support people working from home amid the COVID-19 crisis.
- The carrier is deploying 600 MHz spectrum from companies such as Comcast, Dish, and a few investment firms.
- As long as you have a compatible device, you should be able to see capacity improvements within the next few days.
With an aim to support millions of Americans who are now working and schooling from due to the COVID-19 outbreak, T-Mobile has announced (opens in new tab) that it is expanding capacity for 60 days by deplying 600 MHz spectrum borrowed from companies like Comast and Dish, who are currently not doing anything with their spectrum holdings.
Neville Ray, President of Technology for T-Mobile, said in a statement:
In trying times like this, we understand how important it is for people to remain connected – to family and friends, to resources and information, to their jobs via teleworking or schools via virtual classrooms. And we take our responsibility to keep our customers connected incredibly seriously We can't thank these partners and the FCC enough for coming together to provide people across the country with the critical connectivity they're relying on right now.
In addition to boosting capacity for customers with compatible phones, the carrier is also expanding roaming access for Sprint customers on its network. As noted by the folks at PCMag, this move will primarily benefit customers in rural U.S. However, to get good coverage, your phone must be compatible with LTE bands 12 and 71.
To ensure that its network remains fully operational at all times, T-Mobile's Network Operations Centers monitor network traffic 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The company has also removed data caps for all T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile customers, and is providing an additional 20GB of mobile hotspot data for the next two months.
