T-Mobile applies to test 2.7GHz and 4GHz gear in 6G spectrum pipeline

T-Mobile has applied to the US Federal Communications Commission for experimental licences to test prototype equipment in the 2.7GHz and 4GHz bands, both earmarked for future 6G use.

The carrier wants temporary permission for two years to evaluate “experimental prototype” basestations and devices at six sites at its headquarters and lab in Bellevue, Washington — to test real-world performance and coexistence with existing federal users.

T-Mobile wants the 2690MHz–2790MHz slice of the 2.7GHz band from November 2026 to November 2028, arguing the licence is in “the public interest” because it will test new equipment “to provide better service” to customers. In the 4GHz band, it applied to test prototypes in 4800MHz–4900MHz from November 2026 to the end of October 2028. Both bands sit in the new US spectrum pipeline the National Telecommunications and Information Administration is studying for commercial licensed use, and the FCC aims to auction the 2.7GHz band in 2028 after the upper C-band auction in July 2027.

The 2.7GHz slice is currently allocated to government agencies for Earth exploration satellite, radio astronomy and space research. T-Mobile said it would coordinate with the FAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, and in July it already won six months of special temporary authority to test 2690MHz–2800MHz at the FAA’s facility in Oklahoma City and the National Weather Service’s radar operations centre in Norman, Oklahoma. Verizon has also recently applied for an experimental licence to demonstrate 6G use cases in the 4.8GHz–4.9GHz band.

Sources

• Light Reading, “T-Mobile requests to test 2.7GHz and 4GHz in 6G spectrum pipeline”, https://www.lightreading.com/6g/t-mobile-requests-to-test-2.7ghz-and-4ghz-in-6g-spectrum-pipeline