The FCC recently formally approved the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint, and today, the "New T-Mobile" is talking about its first Un-carrier announcement for that planned merger. T-Mobile's CEO, John Legere, had a lot to talk about in the wireless carrier's "moves". Today's announcement was more than just one announcement, but chief executive had quite a bit to go over.
Legere went over the majority of details regarding the merger, talking about "more innovation," "lower prices," and so on. Whether or not that actually pans out remains to be seen.
All of the announcements are under the "5G for Good" banner. T-Mobile will have 14 times more capacity after the merger with Sprint (and it will be impossible without the merger), which the carrier says will make it easier to roll out 5G coverage. 200 million people will be covered by T-Mobile's 600 MHz 5G coverage, which launches on December 6. The Galaxy Note 10+ 5G OnePlus 7T Pro 5G will be the wireless network's two handsets that offer 5G access.
5,000 cities and towns will be covered this year by T-Mobile when its 5G network launches launches. 90% of Americans will have access to 100Mbps speeds on their supported devices. You can find T-Mobile's 5G coverage map below.
But let's go into the announcements. That started with first responders. The "Connecting Heroes Initiative" aims to help first responders stay connected. This is a 10-year plan to give first responders, both public and private, with unlimited talk, text, and smartphone data at no additional cost to them. Legere says that's $7.7 billion back into these organizations' budgets — but only after the merger closes.
The next announcement is about keeping the youth of the United States connected, giving them access to the internet. Home broadband is one area that T-Mobile wants to tackle, too, and the merger with Sprint can make that a possibility. This is "Project 10 Million". A program that will "connect 10 million households" over the next 5 years "for free".
$10 billion is the investment, and T-Mobile says it will reach one in three households with this initiative to give kids (and their parents) access to the internet. Free service, with 100GB per year with free mobile Wi-Fi hotspots. T-Mobile will cover the cost for some smartphones and tablets. And as soon as someone signs up for the service, they will have free coverage for five years.
With the merger, and to foster competition and drive down prices, "T-Mobile Connect" will see the "lowest prices ever". The lowest cost plan will be sliced in half, going for $15 per month. Customers will save "at least $180 every year". That plan will offer unlimited talk and text, as well as 5G access. T-Mobile says the "slashed price" will "stay slashed" for at least five years.
"The Annual Data Upgrade" is meant to address folks who use more data every year. Pay the same, but you'll get an additional 500MB of data per month every year. So if you have a 2GB plan, you'll get 2.5GB of data per month after the first year, and then 3GB of data the following year — without the price of your plan going up.
And that's it, so far. This was meant to be a preview for the "New T-Mobile," and, as Legere put it, to show what the new company will look like and what it will offer. These are some impressive initiatives, for sure. But what do you think? Is this merger between T-Mobile and Sprint something you want to happen?