UScellular launched a mid-band 5G network on 3.45GHz spectrum which it predicted would be accessible to 1 million households by the year-end.

The operator plans to light the service in parts of ten US states by the end of the month. By end-2024, it expects to cover 3 million households.

Mike Irizarry, EVP and CTO, said UScellular sees “mid-band as the sweet spot of 5G because it provides broad coverage, low latency and fast speeds”.

“We view mid-band as the sweet spot of 5G because it provides broad coverage, low latency and fast speeds – enabling more people to connect to what matters most at home or on-the-go,” said Mike Irizarry, executive vice president and chief technology officer for UScellular. “As we approach serving 100,000 High-Speed Internet customers later this summer, mid-band will play an important role in furthering the reach and enhancement of that product. We’ve made it a priority to expand the technology to more communities in the coming years.”

He noted the operator is closing in on serving 100,000 internet customers, stating “mid-band will play an important role in furthering the reach” of the service.

A representative told Mobile World Live UScellular has a number of compatible devices, with more coming.

It also has a compatible router for high-speed internet.

UScellular paid more than $579 million for 380 licences in an FCC auction of mid-band spectrum in 2021.

Ericsson and Nokia are among the vendors deploying the network.

The operator noted mid-band is ten-times faster than its 4G and low-band 5G networks.

On UScellular’s Q1 earnings call, CEO Laurent Therivel cited mid-band and C-Band services as opportunities to boost network performance and cut customer churn.