What you need to know
- Rumors claim T-Mobile is looking to fully end its LTE support, as a leaked document states the company is moving toward 5GSA (standalone).
- The leak states T-Mobile will look to fully end LTE support after by 2035; however, speculation states the majority of this phase-out could happen by 2028.
- The document also alleges that T-Mobile will require all devices activated on its network to support 5GSA by January 1, 2026 to prepare for this future.
There are rumors that T-Mobile is looking into the future and setting in stone its plans to retire LTE support on its network in favor of 5G.
This report comes from an apparent leaked document that The Mobile Report got its hands on, which states T-Mobile will “re-farm” LTE to 5G over the “next few years” (via 9to5Google). Specifically, the document the publication reported highlights the “LTE to 5G standalone transition” plans that T-Mobile has, which will reportedly occur over the next “two-plus years.”
Regarding “business impact,” the alleged T-Mobile plan claims its LTE contracts will not go beyond 2035, as the “LTE network will be maintained” until that year rolls around. It seems T-Mobile is expecting its LTE network to “degrade” as it puts its transition plan into action.
These issues T-Mobile anticipates include a bottleneck on its LTE network, as well as a hit to performance and service quality for phones, tablets, wearables, and more for LTE and 5G NSA (non-standalone) devices. This is also likely due to T-Mobile seemingly only looking to keep a sole 5MHz LTE channel available to the last remaining vestiges of LTE devices.
As T-Mobile moves into its 5G-only future, it states that by January 1, 2026, devices activated for its network should be 5GSA (standalone) capable, so there’s no issue once its LTE spectrum is gone. Going by this report (and document), the publication assumes most of T-Mobile’s transition to 5G-only will be done by 2028.
A Change in Service
While the root of this report is that T-Mobile is looking to finally phase out LTE support, as the publication notes, this isn’t likely to affect most consumers. Devices nowadays are already capable of that 5G future, so shifting LTE out shouldn’t really cause a disturbance. We’ll have to see where things go with T-Mobile, such as more confirmed information from the service.
In the name of “exciting” service updates, T-Mobile’s T-Satellite network recently made an announcement regarding “Satellite-ready” apps for your phone. The T-Satellite network enables users to remain in contact with the world even without a cell connection, as it uses satellites to do its work. Now, the company is extending that support to apps users frequently use, like WhatsApp, X (Formerly Twitter), AccuWeather, and more.
Users can still check in on social media and make posts on X without a standard cell signal. For WhatsApp, users can text, send pictures, and make regular calls and video calls all on its satellite network. Satellite-ready app access started rolling out to Android and iOS devices on T-Mobile’s T-Satellite network on October 1.
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