SEATTLE -- For a couple of minutes in a small, nondescript T-Mobile US Inc. conference room, the future of wireless is here.
Two phone-book size pieces of equipment stand about 8 feet apart, one representing a cell tower, the other the smartphone of the future. A nearby screen shows that the transceiver is beaming download speeds that peak at 2,208 megabits per second -- fast enough to grab a high-definition film in about 10 seconds -- and much faster than the 12 megabits-per-second standard for Long Term Evolution technology in smartphones now.
The breakthrough is brief, though. An engineer holds up a pane of glass, positioning it between the receivers while keeping out of the way himself. The download speeds on the screen dial drop significantly; much of the signal can't pierce modern reflective, double-paned glass.
Wireless carriers and their suppliers will likely spend billions to develop fifth-generation wireless technology, a coming update to cellular standards that's designed for superfast delivery of Internet data. The technology will let users stream video to their heart's content and experience virtual reality from their phones.
Early signs are promising, T-Mobile is finding from extensive testing in its Innovation Lab tucked in an office park outside Seattle. But it's also clear how far fifth-generation wireless technology has yet to go.
T-Mobile, the third-largest U.S. wireless carrier by subscribers, is a cornerstone of the wireless industry in the Seattle area, which decades ago was home to pioneering companies that went on to form components of all four major U.S. wireless carriers. T-Mobile employs about 5,500 people in the region.
The company is growing its business, pairing an aggressive marketing campaign with heavy investment in wireless technologies that has helped the carrier come closer to the service quality of its larger rivals. That's important in the mature cellphone market, where the primary way for a carrier to expand is by drawing subscribers away from competitors.
To spur even more growth, T-Mobile is expanding the size and head count of its technology lab, hosting fifth-generation wireless technology trials, doing more device testing and setting up office space to relieve some of the crunch at the company's crowded campus down the road.
T-Mobile kept its lab, about 4 miles from its headquarters, largely closed to outside eyes over the years -- and only recently added a sign to mark that the lab was there at all.
"Little old T-Mobile has actually produced and launched some global firsts," said Neville Ray, the company's chief technology officer since 2010.
"With the pace of growth that's coming from our success, we're driving capabilities that two to three years ago I think folks would have thought would be very, very difficult to achieve."
T-Mobile in February said it would aim to be the first U.S. carrier to deploy cell service relying on Long Term Evolution in unlicensed spectrum technology that uses broadcast frequencies typically meant for Wi-Fi signals.
Another of T-Mobile's recent lab inventions is the Digits feature, which allows a single phone number to ring across many devices. It also lets one phone hold multiple phone numbers.
Inside the lab's 78,000 square feet are a series of server rooms and testing pods where more than 100 employees run trials on every technology that makes its way to T-Mobile's network, from phone calls to upcoming gigabit (1,000 megabits) download speeds.
At the fifth-generation wireless technology demonstration lab, tightly controlled behind three layers of doors that require key-card entry, T-Mobile engineers and counterparts from Nokia -- the builders of the hardware -- test the interference created by various materials.
Drywall? The large display dial opposite the engineer holding the piece of material shows a slight dip, but the download speeds hold strong.
Less so when the engineer steps between the two receivers himself. The radio waves are almost entirely absorbed by his body.
"There's a lot to learn," said David Jones, T-Mobile's director of fifth-generation wireless technology systems architecture, including how to keep the connection strong through any material.
Fifth-generation wireless technology likely won't become a widespread reality until after 2020, said Ray. Hurdles remain, from radio-wave spectrum allocation to fifth generation-capable hardware to the consistent performance of the technology.
AT&T will test a version of the technology, without the promised peak speeds, in Austin, Texas, and Indianapolis this year.
Verizon has also moved into the testing phase, and recently announced it will conduct fifth-generation wireless technology field trials in a few cities, including Seattle, this year. The tests will be for fixed wireless -- essentially a replacement for home broadband internet.
T-Mobile is taking a different approach. Fixed wireless and fifth-generation wireless technology, Ray said, are "not a match made in heaven." It's too limited, he said, and the technology could be better used to transform how people use their mobile phones.
"We're far more excited about what 5G can do for mobile consumers," he said. The company envisions people experiencing virtual reality and other applications that require superfast data speeds on the go.
"We're not sitting around crunching numbers," Ray said. "We're pushing forward."
SundayMonday Business on 03/27/2017