iPhone 8, iPhone X lack support for T-Mobile's new 600 MHz extended LTE network
The technical specifications for Apple's new iPhone 8 and iPhone X lack a discrete entry for the 600MHz spectrum required to use T-Mobile's new multi-billion dollar LTE network on Band 71 -- but at present, only one other smartphone has support for the frequency.
To explicitly support the new network, the phones need to support Band 71, or the 600MHz spectrum. The absence of the frequency support means nothing to other carriers -- but the new LTE Extended network that T-Mobile has been building out won't be accessible to iPhone 8 or iPhone X users and it cannot be enabled in software.
The 600MHz spectrum provides better coverage inside buildings, and ranges farther from towers allowing for better rural coverage. The network will be available in full in 2020 -- at which point there will be two more generations of iPhones.
T-Mobile claims that phones from Samsung and LG will be supported on the frequency in the last calendar quarter of 2017. At present, only the unlocked LG V30 is compatible with T-Mobile's LTE Extended network
Qualcomm Technologies has confirmed support of the 600 MHz spectrum in the Snapdragon X16 LTE modem embedded in the Snapdragon 835 mobile platform and the WTR5975 RF transceiver that it pairs with. The X16 modem is included in the Galaxy S8, LG G6, and Galaxy Note 8 -- but other components needed to support the frequency are not.
Band 71 support first rolled out in Cheyenne, Wyo., in August. In 2017, additional 600 MHz sites are slated for locations including northwest Oregon, west Texas, southwest Kansas, the Oklahoma panhandle, western North Dakota, Maine, coastal North Carolina, central Pennsylvania, central Virginia and eastern Washington.
T-Mobile spent $8 billion on the frequency auction in April to acquire 45 percent of the spectrum. It is unclear what the carrier has doled out to build the network.
To explicitly support the new network, the phones need to support Band 71, or the 600MHz spectrum. The absence of the frequency support means nothing to other carriers -- but the new LTE Extended network that T-Mobile has been building out won't be accessible to iPhone 8 or iPhone X users and it cannot be enabled in software.
The 600MHz spectrum provides better coverage inside buildings, and ranges farther from towers allowing for better rural coverage. The network will be available in full in 2020 -- at which point there will be two more generations of iPhones.
T-Mobile claims that phones from Samsung and LG will be supported on the frequency in the last calendar quarter of 2017. At present, only the unlocked LG V30 is compatible with T-Mobile's LTE Extended network
Qualcomm Technologies has confirmed support of the 600 MHz spectrum in the Snapdragon X16 LTE modem embedded in the Snapdragon 835 mobile platform and the WTR5975 RF transceiver that it pairs with. The X16 modem is included in the Galaxy S8, LG G6, and Galaxy Note 8 -- but other components needed to support the frequency are not.
Band 71 support first rolled out in Cheyenne, Wyo., in August. In 2017, additional 600 MHz sites are slated for locations including northwest Oregon, west Texas, southwest Kansas, the Oklahoma panhandle, western North Dakota, Maine, coastal North Carolina, central Pennsylvania, central Virginia and eastern Washington.
T-Mobile spent $8 billion on the frequency auction in April to acquire 45 percent of the spectrum. It is unclear what the carrier has doled out to build the network.
Comments
So, settle down.
It's going to be Far, far longer to spread out of there. It could be 4-8 years before I see it in my town. I was at Shasta Lake house boating the last 2 years and when I could get a connection, it was a E on my iPhone screen. I was like what the hell is that? E as in Edge Network. Basically a little more advanced 2G. It's not even 3G, let alone LTE.
1 Android phone currently has it. 1 out of how many Android phones? The new Note 8 didn't get it. The S8 doesn't have it. Will the Pixel 2 have it? Does it matter?
"Two weeks after T-Mobile began lighting up its first 600 MHz sites in Wyoming, the Un-carrier on Thursday announced the first handset that will actually be capable of supporting those new airwaves: LG’s V30". Somewhere I recall reading that there would be a total of 4 this year, with TMo specifically mentioning some upcoming Samsung model in their original press release.
But yeah, a total non-issue for the moment, and even those keeping their iPhones for the next three years aren't likely to be missing out on all that much as the faster networks become more prevalent. Networks now aren't particularly slow are they?
Pointless. It's not really going to be ready in your area for at least 3 years. By then you'll have another phone. I live in a rural part of Southeastern PA, and my town just got a decent LTE connection last year (AT&T). In fact, between Lancaster and West Chester still constantly slips into so-called "4G" coverage.
I realized I basically just wrote the same post! Actual, usable coverage will take years to hit even the exurbs (I live in the absolute last Philly exurb to the West). Truly rural areas? There are still place that don't have any coverage. Zero. And people are worried about a new band on one carrier, for which there may be 1 phone on the market right now? Dumb.
no no no, say it "lacks support for"
to win the SEO game you must be the SEO game.
In various copy, 8 and 8 Plus are mentioned separately, so implying that '8' on its own means the entire series is misleading. I'm sure the models are explicitly shown in the graphic above, but who knows Apple model numbers off the top of their heads?
This is the first I've heard and/or realized that a) not only does the 'iPhone Killer' Note 8 not support it b) no currently selling phone supports it and c) the T-Mo band won't be fully (?) deployed until 2020. I'll be off my 5s before then but might still have a more current phone that still doesn't support it. So it might not affect me for awhile.
So yeah, if being able to refute and maybe even dispel FUD and knowing actual fact isn't a consideration, this may be a non-story.