T-Mobile US announced it will launch 5G service in parts of six cities on Friday (28 June), ahead of a broader rollout of the technology in the second half of this year.

Service will be available at no additional monthly charge to customers using the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G.

The operator billed the service as a chance for early adopters to sample the faster speeds 5G will bring. However, it admitted initial deployments on its 28GHz and 39GHz spectrum will offer “extremely limited” outdoor coverage in portions of New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Dallas, Cleveland and Atlanta (see image, click to enlarge).

Availability will be expanded later in 2019, it added.

T-Mobile has been vocal about its plan to launch 5G on its 600MHz spectrum in the second half of the year, but CTO Neville Ray (pictured) told Mobile World Live in February the operator could lead with mmWave due to handset availability.

During the same interview he noted in addition to the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, LG’s V50 ThinQ would be compatible with its mmWave network.

T-Mobile also touted its use of multi-band dual-connectivity in its new network, a technology it noted will allow compatible devices benefit from simultaneous connections with its 4G and 5G networks.

Sprint, which is still awaiting approval for a proposed merger with T-Mobile, similarly heralded an implementation of the same technology when it launched its mid-band 5G network at the end of May.