Tag: UScellular

UScellular Expands 5G Network, Providing Faster and Stronger Connectivity

After acquiring the 3.45 GHz spectrum for 5G mid-band service, UScellular has finally launched this highly-anticipated network. The advancement introduces a range of benefits, including faster speeds and enhanced network strength. By leveraging UScellular’s 5G mid-band technology, users can experience speeds up to 10 times faster than the previous 4G LTE and low-band 5G networks. This cutting-edge technology boasts greater capacity, enriching the mobile experience and facilitating various business and fixed wireless applications. The company has been collaborating with industry leaders Nokia and Ericsson and is committed to a robust mid-band buildout.

The deployment of UScellular’s 5G mid-band network will initially cover parts of Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington. By the end of this year, UScellular aims to extend coverage to over 1 million households within its operational footprint.

Mike Irizarry, the executive vice president and chief technology officer of UScellular, expressed the significance of mid-band technology, referring to it as the “sweet spot” of 5G. This technology provides widespread coverage, minimal latency, and fast speeds, enabling a greater number of people to connect seamlessly at home or on-the-go. Irizarry also emphasized the importance of mid-band technology in expanding UScellular’s High-Speed Internet service, with plans to serve 100,000 customers during the summer. UScellular prioritizes the expansion of this technology to more communities in the coming years.

The introduction of mid-band technology elevates the overall 5G coverage. It allows customers and businesses to enjoy even faster data connection speeds, resulting in an enhanced user experience. UScellular remains committed to expanding its device portfolio with mobile and fixed wireless products. This includes additional options for its High-Speed Internet product and a wider range of IoT devices.

UScellular now provides customers with access to low-band, mid-band, and high-band mmWave 5G speeds and services. The company anticipates that nearly 3 million households within its operational footprint will have access to 5G mid-band connectivity by the end of 2024.

For more news and information about USCellular, check out their newsroom.

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Will US Wireless Carriers’ Voluntary Commitments Address Aviation Safety Concerns for 5G Use?

Four major US wireless carriers have recently made voluntary commitments to address aviation safety concerns and allow full use of the C-Band wireless spectrum for 5G use. Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile US, and UScellular submitted a letter to the Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) outlining their voluntary commitments to support full-power deployments across C-Band while minimizing the operational impact on their C-Band operations.

The FAA had previously expressed concerns that 5G service could interfere with airplane altimeters, which provide critical data on a plane’s height above the ground and are essential for safe landing during bad weather. This had led to brief disruptions at some US airports last year, prompting the voluntary commitments by the wireless carriers.

Verizon and AT&T had already agreed to delay some C-Band 5G usage until July last year, while T-Mobile and UScellular had not begun deployment at the time of the agreement. The latest voluntary commitments are seen as a major step forward and will allow carriers to increase power levels to get to full C-Band use.

The voluntary commitments made by the wireless carriers could last until 2028, according to sources briefed on the matter. The FAA had initially sought to extend some through up to 2033. The FCC has not yet commented on the matter, while the FAA said it continues to work closely to ensure a safe co-existence in the US 5G C-band environment.

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What Does USCellular’s 5G Coverage Look Like?

More than 50% of company’s footprint covered by 5G

[USCellular] CHICAGO (Dec. 7, 2022) – UScellular’s 5G network is expanding in several states thanks to an innovative software update that enhances the 5G coordination between its cell sites and builds on the company’s efforts to deploy smart networks. With this update, 1.4 million more people now have access to the company’s 5G network.

Using features within 4G and 5G technology known as X2 coordination, UScellular can extend existing 5G service to neighboring sites, making 5G available to more customers. 

In addition to extending 5G service availability and coverage area, UScellular has broadened its automation capabilities to accelerate the deployment of these services with greater autonomy, improved real time network updates, and greater accuracy with a feature called “Automatic Neighbor Relations” (ANR). This automation complements the work of UScellular engineers and allows them to focus on other high value efforts that contribute to the quality and reliability of the network.

“These updates allow us to get more out of our investment and enhance our customers’ experience whether they are accessing our 5G network on their smartphone, tablet or for home internet,” said Robert Jakubek, vice president of engineering and network operations at UScellular. “Our local network teams have been busy turning this technology on for customers from coast to coast, and we look forward to more customers taking advantage of our fast, high-quality network.”

This expansion is part of UScellular’s long-term network modernization plan. It represents a 5% increase in the company’s 5G coverage, expanding these higher data speeds to more than 50% of its footprint. It is one element of the company’s use of Artificial Intelligence technology to help ensure its network runs at peak performance. UScellular plans to implement ANR on future tower builds and upgrades as it continues to deploy 5G to more of its markets.

For more information about UScellular’s 5G network, go to uscellular.com/5G.

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How UScellular and Cradlepoint are Working Together to Provide Reliable 5G Internet

CHICAGO (Nov. 15, 2022) – UScellular recently introduced more options for businesses to help them stay connected and work productively. Through a relationship with Cradlepoint, an industry leader in enterprise-grade, wireless WAN solutions, UScellular is able to offer one of the industry’s broadest, purpose-built portfolios of pre-certified, enterprise-grade wireless routers and wideband adapters for branch, mobile and IoT use cases – with the convenience of one bill. 

Here are a few of the ways businesses can benefit: 

  • Stay connected to corporate resources and work productively from branch locations or remote sites with fast, all-in-one wireless internet. 
  • Give employees the flexibility they want with the secure, reliable internet they need to get work done from home. 
  • Protect against wireline disruptions and ensure business is always open with dependable connectivity customers can rely on. 
  • Access cloud-based project management software, images and plans with rapidly-deployable wireless internet on construction job sites. 
  • Connect, manage, and secure digital signage, point-of-sale systems, cameras – virtually anything that can connect to a gateway. 

“This is a great option to help businesses quickly implement fast, reliable 5G business internet, all powered by UScellular and Cradlepoint,” said Kim Kerr, senior vice president, enterprise sales and operations for UScellular. “UScellular’s wireless network and Cradlepoint Wireless WAN solutions scale with business and deliver the agility needed for faster profitability.” 

UScellular’s business customers can receive unlimited data with no price increases, guaranteed. They can quickly connect with out-of-the-box setup that’s easy to self-install. 

“UScellular is making it easier for businesses of all sizes to take advantage of fast and reliable 5G internet, both in urban and rural markets,” says Jonathan Fischer, vice president North America carrier development at Cradlepoint. “With Cradlepoint enterprise-grade Wireless WAN solutions, UScellular business customers can stay more connected, with more control and more security, and in more places than ever before.” 

For more information about UScellular’s enterprise-grade 5G business internet, visit this page. 

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How Do Cellular Home Internet Services Compare?

After roughly a year of getting their 5G home Internet services rolled out, both Verizon and T-Mobile are not only increasing their coverage areas, but their customer base as well. Just recently, T-Mobile reported they had expanded their service’s availability from 30 to 40 million households. For Verizon, they had announced back in January that their service reaches 20 million households.  

AT&T doesn’t have 5G home internet, but it does offer a 4G LTE option to rural customers and businesses. UScellular has also been working on its own 5G home Internet too, but it’s still very limited. 

In comparison, Verizon offers the fastest potential speeds for both downloads and uploads, yet T-Mobile‘s service is more widely available. Right now, we only have a max download speed for UScellular, but expect to see more results in the future. 

With both, keep in mind that your average 5G speeds will vary based on your location and coverage. And yeah, AT&T’s 4G home internet is abysmally slow.

Download Speeds

  • T-Mobile = 33 to 182 Mbps
  • Verizon = 85 to 1,000 Mbps
  • AT&T (4G Only) = 10 to 25 Mbps
  • UScellular = up to 300 Mbps

Upload Speeds

  • T-Mobile = 8 to 25 Mbps
  • Verizon = 10 to 50 Mbps
  • AT&T (4G Only) = up to 1 Mbps

Something to keep in mind about these speeds – at least with Verizon – is you must sign up for the 5G Home Plus plan to gain access to speeds between 300 to 1000 Mbps. 

Aside from reasonable pricing options, both Verizon and T-Mobile offer trial periods to test the service. T-Mobile allows for 15 days, while Verizon allows for 30 days. Here’s an outline of some comparisons between T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T plans (we’re still waiting on UScellular to release more details):

5G home internet detailsT-MobileVerizonAT&T
Price with cellular plan$30/month$25-35/month$59.99/month
Price without cellular plan$50/month$50-70/month$69.99/month
Contract❌❌❌
Taxes and feesIncludedIncludedExtra
Data cap❌❌350 GB
Self-setup✅✅❌
Installation fee❌❌$99
Price lockLifetime2-3 years❌

Given the information, it may still be difficult for those of us with access to wired broadband services to switch to cellular. However, with the pricing, it could very well make up for the slower bandwidth. Or you might consider adding it as a backup to your broadband service if you cannot afford any downtime. Either way, there’s options with risk free trials so check them out today!

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How Inseego and Qualcomm Helped UScellular Launch 5G

New UScellular Brand and Logo Unveiled - Telecompetitor

As the fourth largest cellular in the United States, UScellular doesn’t make the headlines much. Now, with the collaboration of companies Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and Inseego, they have launched its 5G mmWave high-speed internet service. This launch, which is happening in 10 cities, follows a friendly user trial that began in Janesville, WI. in 2021. It builds upon field testing that demonstrates the speed and range that 5G mmWave technology is capable of providing customers.

To compete with carriers T-Mobile and Verizon, UScellular has their own Home Internet+ solution, which comes with the launch of their 5G service. The service delivers speeds of up to 300 Mbps, an increase of 10-15 times compared to its 4G LTE home internet offering, and is a significant milestone in its multi-technology approach to providing High-Speed Internet solutions.

UScellular’s Home Internet+ uses the Inseego Wavemaker™ FW2010 outdoor 5G CPE, powered by the Qualcomm® 5G Fixed Wireless Access Platform Gen 1 featuring Snapdragon® X55 5G Modem-RF System. It’s a great solution for users that require high-speed internet access in their homes or businesses. 

For this Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) service, you’ll need to be located in parts of East Moline and Rock Island, IL.; Bettendorf, Cedar Falls, Davenport, Dubuque and Waterloo, Iowa; Yakima, WA.; and Beloit and Janesville, WI.

Future plans for 2022 include increasing the Home Internet+ service within the aforementioned cities and expanding to dozens more in both urban and rural areas. This will include Springfield and Tipton, MO., Knoxville, TN., and Kenosha and Milwaukee, WI. 

“At UScellular, we are passionate and motivated to deliver on our mission of connecting people and communities to what matters most to them,” said Mike Irizarry, executive vice president and chief technology officer for UScellular. “This FWA solution is key to providing customers affordable and reliable in-home connectivity no matter where they live, and we look forward to expanding it to more areas in 2022 and beyond.”

In comparison to other wireline options, 5G mmWave is an affordable and accessible solution that is quick and easy to set up. To harness the powerful benefits of 5G mmWave for UScellular’s next-generation internet service, Inseego leveraged the Qualcomm 5G Fixed Wireless Access Platform Gen 1. This product provides a comprehensive, fully integrated modem-to-antenna 5G solution, which is engineered to streamline product development for multiple mobile broadband product categories, including sub-6 GHz, mmWave and extended-range mmWave CPE devices. 

The Qualcomm 5G Fixed Wireless Access Platform Gen 1 is also designed to provide operators and OEMs, like Inseego, with the technology capabilities they need to tackle wireless complexity while enabling them to offer a diverse product portfolio to their customers.

“This expansion of delivering high-speed internet to untapped cities is a testament to Qualcomm Technologies efforts to bridge the digital divide,” said Gautam Sheoran, vice president, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “By equipping operators and OEMs with cost-effective, last-mile technologies, we are able to empower end users and enterprises with best-in-class 5G connectivity for homes and businesses, including those in previously underserved areas.”

The Inseego Wavemaker FW2010 outdoor CPE delivers multi-gigabit download speeds for data-hungry applications. It connects to a Wi-Fi router to provide secure and reliable internet access for numerous devices throughout a home, business, or office. With exceptional 5G cellular antenna performance, the FW2010 can extend mmWave coverage many miles away from a cell tower. It also supports 5G sub-6 GHz and Cat 22 LTE, making it great for a wide range of locations and applications.

“UScellular is committed to delivering first-class broadband experiences for their customers and to support the growth of connected communities. We congratulate them on this milestone launch,” said Inseego CEO Ashish Sharma. “The record-breaking performance of our Inseego Wavemaker FW2010 enables UScellular to unlock the vast potential of its 5G mmWave network and extends the reach of high-speed, high-capacity FWA broadband services to residential and business customers.”

Learn more about UScellular’s approach to FWA service here. Also, if you’re interested in determining your eligibility for the 5G service, and sign up for future updates, go to https://www.uscellular.com/home-internet-5G

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