For months, T-Mobile has been saying it’s got a smarter, sounder 5G strategy than both Verizon and AT&T. To understand what an optimal 5G network looks like, you should think of a fancy cake with three distinct layers, the company’s executives have claimed.
At the top is ultra-fast millimeter wave technology, on which Verizon is so far basing its entire 5G experience. Data speeds on millimeter wave are extremely fast (regularly over 1Gbps), but the signal doesn’t carry very far — maybe a city block or two — and indoor coverage is a huge problem. In the middle, you’ve got mid-band spectrum — like the 2.5Ghz airwaves that Sprint is currently using for 5G. It doesn’t get the same eye-popping speeds that millimeter wave can offer, but…