5G smartphones are starting to get unveiled, and some carriers, like Sprint, are jumping at the chance to launch them.

Meanwhile, T-Mobile, the self-proclaimed Un-carrier, is holding onto that mantle in another way: Waiting on 5G. According to a report from CNET, based on a conversation the publication had with T-Mobile’s Chief Technology Officer, the wireless carrier is delaying its 5G rollout until sometime in the second half of 2019. The reason? Phones aren’t ready yet.

“T-Mobile Chief Technology Officer Neville Ray said in an interview that the company won’t be formally launching its 5G service in its first 30 cities until the second half of 2019. A year ago, Ray told CNET that the launch would happen in the first half.”

To recap: Around this time last year, T-Mobile had a bold plan: To have 5G available in 30 different cities across the United States by the end of 2018. That obviously did not pan out. Now, a couple of months into 2019 and the wireless Un-carrier is slowing things down a bit. On a technical level, the phones just aren’t available for T-Mobile to actually use. The airwaves T-Mobile is using to deploy 5G coverage aren’t compatible with the phones announced up to this point.

And a 5G wireless network is pointless without devices to access it.

Interestingly, T-Mobile does plan on carrying the recently-unveiled Samsung Galaxy S10 5G. However, T-Mobile won’t be going loud and proud with the device’s availability, because it won’t fully support the network or what little 5G coverage it has. So while T-Mobile will technically have a 5G smartphone here soon enough, it sounds like the carrier won’t be going out of its way to tell customers that.

T-Mobile’s announcement of a delay comes hot on the heels of Sprint confirming that it is going to start its 5G rollout in May of this year.

Are you looking forward to having 5G connectivity on your smartphone this year?

[via CNET]








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