T-Mobile US unveiled a bevy of programs, platforms, and investments designed to strengthen the development of applications that require more specialized capabilities of 5G. 

The domestic 5G leader opened a new 5G innovation center near its headquarters in Washington, unveiled its DevEdge developer platform that taps into APIs and open source technologies, and multiple partnerships with companies striving to showcase the largely unmet potential of 5G networks.

“We’re making new moves to unleash the full power of 5G,” Neville Ray, T-Mobile’s president of technology, said during a pre-recorded video announcement. While more than 40% of T-Mobile’s customers currently have a 5G device and usage has increased sixfold during the last year, many customers are “just beginning to experience what 5G is truly capable of,” he said. 

“Let’s be real. 5G hype has been out of control, and there are a lot of people wondering where the breakthrough 5G innovations are. The truth is 5G developer innovation has been underwhelming so far. It will never take off, and 5G will never live up to its full potential if the carriers don’t get out of the way,” Ray said. 

The current framework for 5G development is stifling innovation with limited support and collaboration, bureaucratic morass, unclear pricing, and lengthy certification processes, according to Ray. 

T-Mobile DevEdge is targeted at leveling the playing field to all developers with developer kits and access to pre-certified modules, chipsets, and devices. “There’s no out of pocket cost, no testing hardware, no lengthy build time,” said Rob Roy, SVP of emerging business at T-Mobile. 

“With DevEdge, we’re creating a community where developers of all kinds can come together,” and collaborate with T-Mobile’s network team, Roy explained. “No more fending for yourself. DevEdge means you’re backed by some of the smartest minds in the world when it comes to wireless innovation.”

The developer kit will be available this summer and more capabilities and resources will be added to the platform later this year. 

Erin Raney, senior director of systems architecture at T-Mobile, showcased the carrier’s 24,000-square-foot facility that includes all the indoor and outdoor flavors of 5G available on the carrier's network, an indoor drone test flight zone, and an area where teams can create and test hardware prototypes.

The 5G Open Innovation Lab, T-Mobile Accelerator, and T-Mobile Ventures also support the development of new 5G use cases, including multiple concepts resulting from the trio of programs, explained John Saw, EVP of advanced and emerging technologies at T-Mobile. 

Saw also announced T-Mobile Ventures’ latest investments in SignalWire, a software company that creates telecom APIs for developers, and Spectro Cloud, a Kubernetes enterprise management platform. 

T-Mobile, Deutsche Telekom and a handful of other companies are also kicking off a new program to create augmented reality applications on Qualcomm’s XR Developer Platform in education, gaming, sports, and entertainment. 

Finally, T-Mobile announced a partnership with Disney StudioLAB to develop immersive storytelling and mixed reality, and a collaboration with Red Bull for 5G-powered drones and cameras at live sporting events.