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T-Mobile adds 81 cities to midband 5G network

The network carrier is pushing ahead with 2.5 GHz 5G coverage plans.

Rae Hodge Former senior editor
Rae Hodge was a senior editor at CNET. She led CNET's coverage of privacy and cybersecurity tools from July 2019 to January 2023. As a data-driven investigative journalist on the software and services team, she reviewed VPNs, password managers, antivirus software, anti-surveillance methods and ethics in tech. Prior to joining CNET in 2019, Rae spent nearly a decade covering politics and protests for the AP, NPR, the BBC and other local and international outlets.
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T-Mobile

T-Mobile has added 81 cities and towns to its midband 5G network, the company said Wednesday, promising peak download speeds of up to 1 Gbps and average speeds of around 300 Mbps. 

The carrier network said each midband 2.5 GHz 5G site can cover tens of thousands of times the area that one mmWave site can cover, and can also penetrate obstructions like walls and natural barriers. 

"This is our 5G strategy in action. Mid-band is the 5G spectrum, and T-Mobile has more of it than anyone. We have nearly twice as much low and mid-band spectrum as AT&T and nearly triple that of Verizon," said T-Mobile's Technology President, Neville Ray, in a Wednesday release from the company. 

T-Mobile said it will continue to commit more midband spectrum to its 5G sites, aiming to improve capacity in the coming months and years with 2.5 GHz speeds.

See also: Ready for 5G? These are the plans you'll need at each of the major US carriers

Watch this: Here's the role that 5G plays during the coronavirus pandemic