T-Mobile US breathes a sigh of relief as first phone to support 600 MHz is launched

The new LG V30 is the first phone that can use the 600 MHz band, which is especially handy for TMUS following its latest piece of premature triumphalism.

A couple of weeks ago the magenta army started banging on about how big its spectrum is thanks to winning some nice, long-range 600 MHz band in the recent auction. At the time this was an especially pointless piece of posturing – even by Legere’s lofty standards – since there were no devices that supported that band.

Now LG has come to the rescue with the launch of its new flagship smartphone – the V30 – at the IFA consumer electronics show, which is the first to support the band. Typically TMUS has had the nerve to claim even this as a victory by trying to infer that the two week wait for a single supporting phone is some kind of herculean achievement. Conveniently overlooked is the fact that the V30 is still months away from finding its way onto US shelves.

“We’re lighting up our new super spectrum for LTE and laying the foundation for 5G so fast we’re making the other guys’ heads spin – and with the LG V30, everything is coming together in record time,” ranted TMUS CEO John Legere. “While the carriers try to fake their way to 5G and back off unlimited to keep their networks from caving even more, the Un-carrier’s building the future of wireless and a bigger, better, faster, future-proof network.”

“They said it wouldn’t be possible,” raved TMUS CTO Neville Ray. “They said it wouldn’t be quick. Clearly, they don’t know T-Mobile. Smartphones are coming, we just lit up another location with LTE on 600 MHz and we’re laying a foundation for nationwide 5G at the same time. The carriers must get tired of T-Mobile continually running circles ‘round them!” And breathe.

TMUS also threw Ericsson a bone by acknowledging its role in a claimed 5G network rollout Ray first shouted about at an Ericsson event at MWC this year. Ericsson is specifically providing the kit for 5G over 600 MHz. “The US has hit another milestone with the historic rollout of 5G-ready technology in record-breaking time,” effused Ericsson CEO Börje Ekholm. “The work we’re doing with T-Mobile on its low-band spectrum is paving the way for 5G in rural America and nationwide.”

Ericsson is also making sweet, sweet 5G with Softbank in Japan, issuing an especially short and inconsequential press release today saying they will do a proof of concept trial over the 4.5 GHz band in urban areas once Softbank gets a license to do so. Why that warranted a special announcement all of its own is not clear.