600 will be a major difference in rural areas. The coverage is going to drastically increase, and slowly but surely it’s just going to get more and more robust.
Five years ago, the perception was we were just an urban carrier. The reality was we actually had a pretty big nationwide network, but our coverage from those towers just didn’t go as far as people wanted.
So in 2017 the new spectrum auction was proposed by the FCC, and we won 40%, which is a massive win.
I don’t think the other carriers realized how spectacular it was going to be and what a game-changer it is. And the best part is, when we’re rolling out 600, we’re already prepared for 5G.
600 megahertz is physically different. It’s characteristics allows us to go farther, and penetrate better, and really increase the level of service that we offer.
It goes a very, very long way, farther than any of the spectrum that we’ve used in the past.
600 megahertz had never been used by a wireless operator in the world. It was a new wireless spectrum band.
There was a lot of challenges when we first started 600. One of our main problems were the availability of the hardware.
They have to develop new software, new hardware, new features so that we could then go and deploy it.
Back in the day, all the radios were down on the ground, and now the majority of them are up on the structure, right next to the antenna. It’s a bit of an orchestra because you have to coordinate thousands of sites across the country.
600 megahertz antennas are bigger, so that brings a multitude of challenges when climbing, when installing, when rigging.
It’s amazing the amount of people that go in to keep this 600 network up and running.
We’re monitoring the network on a 24 by 7 basis to make sure that our customers do have that great experience.
We are obsessed with their coverage.We’re obsessed with making sure that the network is always on.
When I’m up there actually doing my job, I feel that I’m making a difference in people’s lives because I’m furthering technology.
It’s only the beginning. It’s going to be a massive, massive footprint where everybody is going to get a chance to see what 5G can do.
