According to Ulf Ewaldsson, T-Mobile’s President of Technology, the operator has already implemented 5G Advanced in its network – a claim that raises questions about what this technology actually consists of and how it compares to the global telecom standards.

What is T-Mobile’s 5G Advanced?

Ewaldsson outlined T-Mobile’s interpretation of 5G-Advanced, which includes a mix of new and existing technologies:

• Standalone 5G Core: T-Mobile first deployed this feature in 2020, allowing 5G networks to operate independently from older LTE infrastructure.
• Carrier Aggregation: The technology that combines multiple spectrum bands to enhance speed and capacity has been around since the 4G era. T-Mobile currently aggregates four spectrum bands for downloads and two for uploads, with plans to increase that number.
• RedCap (Reduced Capability 5G): A feature designed for lower-power, cost-efficient 5G devices such as IoT gadgets and wearables, introduced by T-Mobile last year.
• L4S (Low Latency, Low Loss, Scalable Throughput): A technology aimed at reducing lag and packet loss for better real-time performance in applications such as gaming and video calls.

T-Mobile sees itself as an industry leader setting the standard for what it considers 5G Advanced.

Champions, they don’t try to change the rules written by others. They make their own rules.

Ulf Ewaldsson, T-Mobile

Flexible Definition of 5G Advanced

The global telecom industry typically follows standards set by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), which defines networking technologies in periodic “releases.” In 2021, 3GPP officially designated “5G-Advanced” as the name for its Release 18 batch of technologies. When Release 18 specifications were finalized in mid-2024, operators and equipment vendors were given the freedom to choose which technologies they wanted to implement and when.

T-Mobile’s version of 5G Advanced blends some Release 18 technologies, like RedCap, with older technologies from previous 3GPP releases, such as 5G SA and carrier aggregation.

According to Ewaldsson, this flexible approach means that if a telecom operator is the first to introduce a new technology and labels it as “5G-Advanced,” then it effectively becomes part of the definition. He noted that China Mobile recently launched its own version of 5G Advanced, and T-Mobile wants to ensure that the U.S. stays ahead in the race for next-generation connectivity.

The bigger picture

This move by T-Mobile mirrors past industry trends where operators have tailored definitions to fit their strategies. For example:

• AT&T once branded its LTE network as “5Ge” before actual 5G was available.
• Verizon heavily marketed its millimeter wave 5G despite its extremely limited coverage.

In a similar fashion, T-Mobile is crafting its own version of 5G Advanced, blending existing and new technologies while setting expectations for what it means in practice. Whether this interpretation aligns with consumer expectations and real-world performance remains to be seen.