T-Mobile has launched its standalone 5G network, becoming the first major carrier to launch this architecture. The company continues to maintain its not-standalone architecture, in which a 4G LTE core is combined with 5G capabilities.
Why do we care?
This is a milestone on the way to unlocking 5G, as having a network to leverage is a step. It’s gone from idea to practical… pending devices, of course. On the consumer side, we’ll see devices available quickly. It’s the commercial side I think will be more interesting for listeners here, but know it’s now possible for those to exist in the wild. That’s why we care.
Source: T-Mobile