T-Mobile's 5G network will go live on December 6th
The flashy numbers are dependent on the carrier completing the Sprint merger though.
T-Mobile will officially activate its 5G network on December 6th, the carrier announced today during a live stream dedicated to its upcoming merger with Sprint. According to CEO John Legere, 200 million customers will have access to the network on day one, with 5,000 cities and towns covered before the end of 2019.
The company plans to market the initiative as "5G for Good," likely in an effort to drum up additional support for its merger with Sprint. That's because the launch is dependent on the deal going through since T-Mobile needs access to Sprint's spectrum to make such a wide initial rollout possible. Legere went on to claim that 90 percent of Americans would get access to 100Mbps speeds by 2024 thanks to its potential 5G network.
"This deal has taken longer to close than we thought it would. Some people are still asking questions -- the right questions. But these people have yet to realize that what they want is what we want," said Legere by way of trying to sell the merger. The FCC formally approved the merger on Tuesday, as did the Justice Department earlier this year. However, the merger still faces resistance from several state attorneys general.
