Elain Brown Tech 07.01.2022 23:Jul PM EDT

T-Mobile Retires Sprint's LTE Network

T-Mobile is retiring Sprint's LTE network. T-Mobile, which recently acquired Sprint and became its new owner, has discontinued Sprint's LTE network.

Justin Paulsen, a spokesperson for T-Mobile, confirmed that the network shutdowns have already begun.

This comes on top of the fact that Sprint's 3G CDMA network was taken offline earlier this year.

And with what little is left of T-Mobile's 3G network being shut down in preparation for its retirement.

As of June 30, 2022, Sprint's LTE network has already retired, while as of July 1, 2022, T-Mobile's older 3G UMTS network has also retired.

Sprint LTE Network Goodbye

When T-Mobile first began to shut down Sprint's systems in March, the 3G CDMA network operated by Sprint was the first to be discontinued.

According to The Verge, the company had initially planned to shut down the network at the end of 2021. However, the date was pushed back after a heated debate over anti-competitive behavior, during which Dish chairman Charlie Ergen called T-Mobile a Grinch.

The LTE network, owned and operated by Sprint, came later and was scheduled to be decommissioned for good on June 30, 2022.

Even though Sprint was slow to adopt LTE after having initially placed its bets on WiMAX, the company's LTE network lagged significantly behind the industry standard by the time it was finally operational.

T-Mobile and Sprint

T-Mobile and Sprint's merger was finalized in April 2020, and the companies have pledged to create the most advanced and accessible 5G network possible.

Afterwards, T-Mobile has been working to combine the resources of Sprint and T-Mobile in order to provide a transformative 5G network experience across a wide range of locations.

Both companies aim to cover everything from large cities to small towns and everywhere in between, and T-Mobile is making rapid progress toward building their most advanced network to date.

According to the findings of a number of independent benchmarking organizations, T-Mobile now possesses a 5G network that is both the largest and the fastest of any in the world.

As stated by T-Mobile, "T-Mobile's efforts to retire these older technologies and help transition customers."

T-efforts Mobile's to phase out older technologies and assist customers with the transition to newer ones.

The company published a notice that they will be retiring older network technologies in order to free up resources and spectrum.

Moving forward, this will help the company to strengthen their entire network. The company is also trying to bridge the digital divide by moving all of their customers to more advanced technologies, ensuring no one is left behind.

The transfer of Sprint's LTE spectrum to the T-Mobile network is an additional component of this effort.

T-Mobile Needs a 5G Network

T-Mobile customers who are currently using outdated networks will have to acquire new phones.

Devices that are compatible with cutting-edge high-speed networks are needed in order to make the transition from the older networks to which they are currently subscribed.

T-Mobile is committed to ensuring that its partners and customers receive support throughout this transition. T-Mobile customers who need to take action will receive advance notice and communicate directly with the company.

The company began sending notifications toward the end of the previous year.

Paulsen says, "Customers who needed to take action as a result of these retirement efforts were notified well ahead of time and received an offer for a free 5G replacement device."