T-Mobile, Nokia Reach $3.5 Billion Agreement To Build Nationwide 5G Network (phonedog.com)

T-Mobile has entered into a $3.5 billion multi-year agreement with Nokia to build out its 5G network. Nokia will supply T-Mobile with its end-to-end 5G technology, software, and services, including commercial AirScale radio platforms and cloud-native core, AirFrame hardware, CloudBand software, SON, and 5G Acceleration Services," reports PhoneDog. From the report: Nokia will help T-Mobile build a nationwide 5G network that'll use both 600MHz and 28GHz millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum that'll be compliant with 3GPP 5G New Radio (NR) standards. T-Mobile has said that it'll deploy its 5G coverage in 30 cities in 2018, including New York City, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. The carrier's first 5G-capable smartphones are expected to arrive in early 2019. The T-Mobile announcement can be viewed here.

Comments

I have to wonder why the interest in 5G

[Snotnose]

I see 2 big problems:

A) At those speeds you can hit your monthly bandwidth cap in an hour or so.
B) The frequencies involved kinda suck outside of line of sight

I see 2 reasons for the interest
A) Bragging rights
B) Big $$$ on people going over their bandwidth cap.