5G is the new wireless standard that promises lightning-fast, low-latency wireless communications that will usher in a new era of futuristic technology applications. While 4G brought with it the “app” era in smartphones, 5G is set to usher in a new era of futuristic technologies such as the Internet of Things, self-driving cars, augmented and virtual reality, along with other applications we can’t even contemplate today.
5G has even become a central geopolitical issue, with the U.S. and China racing to build out their 5G infrastructures to stimulate growth and get ahead in next-generation technology. As such, 5G is a very hot topic. And yet, there are still quite a few high-quality 5G-related stocks trading at reasonable prices today.
Three of the best-positioned 5G stocks that still trade at attractive valuations include wireless carrier T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS), leading chip manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM), and memory chip giant Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU), all of which look like solid 5G plays to add to your portfolio this summer.
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T-Mobile: The best network at the lowest price?
If a company offered you a superior product at a lower price, could anything make you go with a competitor? Probably not, which is why T-Mobile looks so compelling today.
For years, T-Mobile was the network laggard behind wireless giants AT&T (NYSE:T) and Verizon (NYSE:VZ), but it was still a winning stock. Establishing itself as the insurgent “Un-carrier,” T-Mobile campaigned on lower prices and customer-friendly features such as unlimited data, doing away with all hidden fees and taxes, and free Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) on certain plans. That ethos allowed T-Mobile to take market share and bring its churn down to industry-leading levels.
However, the real upside for T-Mobile today comes from its recently closed merger with Sprint. While Sprint has been an industry laggard, it also brought with it valuable 2.5 GHz spectrum, on which T-Mobile is building its 5G network. In fact, the combined company now has a superior 5G spectrum portfolio to Verizon and AT&T, which it began deploying last December.
Although Verizon still holds the speed crown in the 5G race, it has very little coverage. Meanwhile, according to the latest report from Opensignal, T-Mobile wins the crown for 5G availability by a huge amount. That study confirmed earlier findings by Rootmetrics, which found T-Mobile had the highest maximum 5G availability, at 57.1% in Washington, D.C. Sprint, now part of T-Mobile, came in second, at 45.7% availability in Dallas. Competitor AT&T’s maximum 5G availability was only 9.5% in Indianapolis, and Verizon’s high-speed 5G was…
