T-Mobile Wants to Use Some Licenses From 2.5 GHz Auction Immediately for 5G

T-Mobile asked the FCC for special temporary authority to immediately start using under special temporary authority many of the licenses it won in the 2.5 GHz auction. The spectrum T-Mobile won in the auction is “interspersed with 2.5 GHz spectrum T-Mobile has already deployed for 5G mobile broadband,” the carrier said in a filing posted Monday. “The intermixture of newly won and operational spectrum provides the Commission with a unique opportunity to significantly increase 5G mobile broadband capacity for consumers by allowing T-Mobile to simply expand the channel bandwidths that its previously deployed 5G equipment already supports,” T-Mobile said: “In the unlikely event that the licenses … are not awarded to T-Mobile, operations on the spectrum can cease.” In all the markets identified in its filing, the carrier said it has “already deployed advanced 5G mobile broadband services in the 2.5 GHz band, and … can launch operations without delay and without deploying new infrastructure.” T-Mobile dominated the auction (see 2209010052), winning 7,156 licenses for $304.3 million. Final payments for licenses were due Friday.