T-Mobile’s network chief awaits remaining 2.5 GHz

T-Mobile has yet to take possession of the 2.5 GHz spectrum that it acquired via auction in 2022 to fill holes in rural territories across the US, but it’s ready to roll when the spectrum does become available. Congress passed legislation requiring the Federal Communications Commission to release the 2.5 GHz spectrum from Auction 108 and President Joe Biden signed the 5G Spectrum Authority Licensing Enforcement (SALE) Act into law in December 2023. However, the process allowed for a 90-day window for the licenses to actually be distributed, so T-Mobile is still waiting. T-Mobile President of Technology Ulf Ewaldsson said he and his team have every expectation that the allocation will get done within the 90-day timeframe, when they’ll finally be able to use the spectrum as it was intended—and quickly. The company won't need to invest in any equipment to use the spectrum. Ewaldsoson says it’s just a matter of changing some software on gear that’s already deployed.