T-Mobile Likely to Be First US Carrier With True 5G, BTIG Says

T-Mobile is the best positioned among U.S. carriers “to deliver real 5G whenever that reality actually materializes,” BTIG’s Walter Piecyk wrote investors Friday. “T-Mobile’s deep and unused low-band spectrum should enable it to launch real 5G before all of its peers. T-Mobile should therefore be considered a primary 5G investment opportunity for investors whether their acquisition of Sprint is approved or not.” The analyst said if the deal isn’t approved, T-Mobile likely will spend $20 billion on spectrum over the next two years. A likely target is Dish Network’s band 66, which includes AWS-4 downlink spectrum and AWS-1 and paired AWS-3, he said. “If that block or Dish’s band 70 is not an option, $20 billion would provide a healthy budget for C-Band spectrum that could become available as early as 2020,” he said. “Unfortunately, C-Band will not likely be usable for several years.” Meanwhile, T-Mobile Friday named Ulf Ewaldsson, ex-Ericsson, senior vice president-technology transformation, reporting directly to Chief Technology Officer Neville Ray. (See also the personals section of this publication's issue).