T-Mobile Targets Carrier Switchers in 5G Phone Promotions, Launches Low-Band 5G

T-Mobile continued the 5G drumroll Monday, lighting up its low-band 600 MHz network and announcing preorders for two phones due in stores Friday. Metro by T-Mobile will launch the first U.S.-wide prepaid 5G Friday, it said. It spans 200 million-plus people, 5,000 towns and 1 million square miles, covering “more people in more places” than rivals, said the carrier. It pitched the $900 and $1,300 5G phones to early adopters. In a promotion, line switchers can get the $900 OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren for free with a trade-in of select smartphones and a 24-month contract. Buyers of the Samsung Galaxy 10 Plus 5G ($1,299) can get up to $1,300 off via 24 or 26 monthly bill credits or any Samsung Galaxy S10 or Note10 of equal or lesser value when they add a line. The phones are ready to use Sprint’s 2.5 GHz 5G spectrum "when available if the merger closes,” it said. T-Mobile CEO John Legere said (see 1902270030) the combination of its low-band and millimeter-wave spectrum and Sprint’s mid-band spectrum would create “the highest capacity network in U.S. history -- a whopping 400 MHz+ total spectrum for customers nationwide on average.” A map shows consumers 5G coverage, "down to their neighborhoods."