T-Mobile moves forward with 5G expansion in Puerto Rico
T-Mobile Puerto Rico has doubled its LTE broadband capacity islandwide through the integration of Sprint’s network and is moving forward with 5G expansion with the addition of more than 100 new 2.5GHz coverage sites in 45 municipalities.
The upgraded network is expected to benefit customers through greater capacity and speed in high traffic areas, said Jorge Martel, general manager of T-Mobile’s operations in Puerto Rico.
During a meeting with the media, he also confirmed that It will invest more than $80 million allocated by the Federal Communications Commission through the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund that will be used in redundancy and disaster recovery projects and harden its network.
The investment is in addition to the merger commitments and spending that T-Mobile had planned, he added.
“The challenges of 2020 have not diminished our commitment to continue investing in Puerto Rico. Almost a year ago we launched the first 5G network on the island and months ago we officially welcomed Sprint customers,” Martel said.
“Our engineering team has not stopped and has a full agenda to complete before the end of 2020. As we had anticipated, our priority is to integrate the networks to get the most out of this union and to further strengthen the leadership of T- Mobile’s 5G network and continue to offer customers a better experience,” Martel said.
“Today, we reaffirm that we will remain in Puerto Rico, expanding, creating jobs and positioning the island as a world-class center of innovation and technology,” said Martel, in reference to the exit of former rival AT&T, which sold its local assets to Liberty Latin America through a deal that closed in late October.
The towns whose networks have been integrated so far are Aguada, Aguadilla, Arecibo, Arroyo, Barceloneta, Bayamón, Cabo Rojo, Caguas, Carolina, Cataño, Cayey, Cidra, Coamo, Corozal, Fajardo, Guayama, Guaynabo, Gurabo, Hormigueros, Humacao, Isabela, Juana Diaz, Juncos, Las Piedras, Lajas, Manatí, Mayagüez, Moca, Morovis, Peñuelas, Ponce, Rio Grande, Sabana Grande, Salinas, San Germán, San Juan, San Sebastián, Santa Isabel, Toa Alta, Toa Baja, Trujillo Alto, Vega Alta, Villalba, Yabucoa and Yauco.
“More than 60% of our customers have equipment compatible with the 2.5GHz band and they automatically start to benefit from this deployment,” Martel said.
T-Mobile also announced that it completed 15 new 5G sites in San Juan, Bayamón, Naranjito, Guayama, Ponce, Carolina, Trujillo Alto, Guaynabo, Gurabo and Caguas.
