Sprint 5G network launches today in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Kansas City

The first sub-6 5G network in the US

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

Sprint has officially launched its 5G network in a handful of US cities: Texas, Georgia and Kansas/Missouri today, with aims to expand to more including Los Angeles and New York City by the end of 2019. The carrier is the third to join the 5G race this year afterVerizonandAT&Tback in April.

Sprint 5G is live today in Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Kansas City. Customers can access the network by picking up aSprint 5G phone– theLG V50 ThinQ 5Gor anHTC 5G Hub, or theSamsung Galaxy S10 5Gin the coming months (‘summer’ in the northern hemisphere).

Unlike the ‘millimeter wave’ 5G in Verizon and AT&T’s nascent networks, Sprint is opting to spread their low-frequency network essentially on top of its existing 4G LTE one – literally, with the carrier deploying its 5G Massive MIMO radios (which broadcast on the 2.5 Ghz mid-band spectrum that Sprint already uses) on existing 4G cell sites. The 5G network should then have similar (if not identical) coverage to its current 4G range.

Pros and cons in the early days of 5G

We’ll have to see whether Sprint’s 5G network performs better than its competitors; almost two months after launching,Verizon 5G mmWavehas demonstrated over 1 Gpbs download speeds, but only within a few blocks in Chicago and Minneapolis.

Thus far, reporters have noted speeds of100 Mbpsup to250 Mbps, with some claiming up to 700 Mbps. That’s obviously lower than Verizon’s 5G speeds, but lower is expected from Sprint’s sub-6 network – the bigger question is how far that coverage extends, at least in the early days of both networks.

If Sprint’s 5G network continues to underperform, we’ll have larger concerns, but building out a new network on top of the old is promising.

Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.

Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.

David is now a mobile reporter at Cnet. Formerly Mobile Editor, US for TechRadar, he covered phones, tablets, and wearables. He still thinks the iPhone 4 is the best-looking smartphone ever made. He’s most interested in technology, gaming and culture – and where they overlap and change our lives. His current beat explores how our on-the-go existence is affected by new gadgets, carrier coverage expansions, and corporate strategy shifts.

We might have our first look at the long-rumored Samsung tri-fold

A newly reported iPhone phenomenon could be bad news for both cops and robbers

I’ve been covering Apple Watch deals for years – This is the one model most people should buy on Black Friday