Soon, T-Mobile might offer in-home 5G service. The nation’s third-largest carrier wants to merge with Sprint and become a new internet service provider. It sounds ambitious, but that could be a massive part of why the two companies have desired a merger between their resources.
The U.S. government will carry out a lengthy investigation, but T-Mobile still wants to make its case in the meantime. T-Mobile already reached out to MVNOs and urged them to support the merger. Now we’re getting an idea for why T-Mobile thinks the merger could benefit consumers and business.
Mike Sievert, T-Mobile’s Chief Operating Officer, has been working at the U.S. government to make progress. In a document sent to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Sievert explained how the still-pending merger would increase competition as an internet service provider. T-Mobile thinks it can rattle a space that’s dominated by Comcast and Charter.
The document reveals that T-Mobile can offer in-home 5G service to half of the country’s zipcodes by 2024. It would give the magenta-loving brand a presence in 64% of Charter’s territory and 68% of Comcast’s territory.
T-Mobile also projects it would have 9.5 million customers enrolled.
If it does begin offering in-home 5G service, the growth would accelerate later on. T-Mobile told the FCC that it would have only 1.9 million customers for it by 2021. Together, T-Mobile and Sprint already have 126 million customers. So that existing pool would be leveraged to sell next-generation connectivity for homes and offices.
Aside from high-speed data speeds, T-Mobile says its in-home 5G service would require very little setup. T-Mobile indicated the installations won’t need an appointment or additional fees. Anyone who wants the technology might be able to install it themselves in minutes.
The advanced capabilities, as well as the straightforward setup, are enough to make T-Mobile’s package more attractive than what the big names offer.
By the way, Comcast and Charter aren’t the only dominant ISPs. T-Mobile will also compete against AT&T, Verizon, CenturyLink, Cox, Altice, Frontier, and others. While Comcast and Charter might not be dominant in all regions, there are many companies that T-Mobile cannot ignore.
In fact, Verizon confirmed it’ll offer in-home 5G service in select U.S. cities later this year. The nation’s largest carrier, however, will require a professional’s visit for installation.
We’ll see how T-Mobile continues over the next few months. It has a plan in place for in-home 5G service, but it does need Sprint’s assistance to speed things along. But the U.S. government moves at its own pace. Until there’s an approval, T-Mobile just needs to keep mastering the art of persuasion.
