It’s been a year since the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) completed Auction 108. But despite this, T-Mobile still has not received its 2.5GHz licenses. 

In the auction, the Un-carrier spent $304 million on over 7,000 2.5GHz spectrum licenses in the hopes of improving its Ultra Capacity 5G network deployment. And with this, T-Mobile’s President of Technology, Ulf Edwaldsson, has called out the agency in a blog post. As Edwaldsson points out, Neville Ray (his predecessor), already drew attention to the issue in April. Still, they were not given access to the spectrum before the Spectrum Auction Authority expired.

This is the first time in history that Congress allowed FCC’s Spectrum Auction Authority to lapse back in March 2023. Despite this, the executive understands the FCC’s concerns on getting the auction authority renewed. It is also working hard with the CTIA and others to get back authority as soon as possible. 

The executive shares that while waiting, the American consumers are losing out on enhanced 5G broadband and economic development opportunities. The 2.5GHz licenses that T-Mobile is waiting for is expected to deliver $28 billion worth of new services in the country. 

T-Mobile also pointed out that its rivals have started to deploy their mid-band spectrum assets. Meanwhile, its consumers are “denied the immediate impact of T-Mobile doing the same.” T-Mobile says this is “not good for competition.”  

The Un-carrier says that its 2.5GHz licenses will be able to improve internet service for millions of American households and throughout the 50 states and Puerto Rico. With the hurricane season amidst us, this spectrum would have proven itself helpful to give the needed service and additional capacity. 

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