T-Mobile announced this week that it officially closed its $31 billion merger with Sprint after a two-year, uphill climb. The combined company will be called New T-Mobile, which plans to deploy a “transformative” 5G network. T-Mobile also announced that Mike Sievert will take over the Chief Executive role from John Legere effective immediately.
“During this extraordinary time, it has become abundantly clear how vital a strong and reliable network is to the world we live in,” Sievert said in a statement. “The New T-Mobile’s commitment to delivering a transformative broad and deep nationwide 5G network is more important and more needed than ever and what we are building is mission-critical for consumers. With this powerful network, the New T-Mobile will deliver real choice and value to wireless and home broadband customers and double down on all the things customers have always loved about the Un-carrier. T-Mobile has been changing wireless for good — and now we are going to do it on a whole new level!”
“All of us at T-Mobile owe John an incredible thank you for everything he’s done to get this company to where we are today. He has changed what it means to be a CEO. Everything that T-Mobile has accomplished is the result of his vision for what a different kind of wireless provider could be. John IS what the Un-carrier is all about.”
“I’ve been fortunate enough to lead this company for the past seven years, but now it’s time for me to hand the reins over to Mike Sievert,” Legere said in a release. “The Board of Directors and I agree that it makes perfect sense for Mike to assume his leadership role on day one of the new company. He’s ready! Between his leadership, his expanded and talented leadership team and the amazing people at T-Mobile, the future is so bright!”
A deal years in the making
T-Mobile and Sprint have tried to make this merger work for last two years, and a number of times over the last decade. A number of legal challenges halted this most recent effort, however. The carriers first had to win offer the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the United States Department of Justice. The DOJ approved the merger in July 2019 on the condition the carriers sell parts of their business to Dish Network. The cable company was looking to create a wireless division, which would keep the number of major U.S. carriers at four.
The FCC gave the merger its blessing in October 2019 when the commission voted along party lines. The carriers’ work was not done however because it faced a lawsuit from a group of state attorneys general who wanted to block the deal out of concern it harm competitive balance and increase prices for customers. Both sides made their case before U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero, who ruled in favor of the carriers.
New T-Mobile is deploying 5G
In its announcement, T-Mobile said it is committed to, “building the world’s best broad and deep nationwide 5G network, which will bring lightning-fast speeds to urban areas and underserved rural communities alike.” The company projects the New T-Mobile network will have 14 times more capacity than the standalone T-Mobile has today, which will help deliver better service at lower prices.
“The Un-carrier movement started with T-Mobile saying we were going to shake up wireless — and we did,” Legere said. “We eliminated annual service contracts, overages and roaming fees, improved customer service and introduced more value, but there’s more. In the best and worst of times, T-Mobile has been here with a dependable network and giving customers best-in-class customer service they can depend on. Today, when those connections are needed more than ever, we are reinforcing everything we’ve stood for as the supercharged New T-Mobile!
“You know T-Mobile has been all about challenging the status quo, and Sprint has a track record of being a tenacious challenger and a dedicated customer advocate as well. So, with innovation, disruption and obsession for the customer experience as the foundation that the New T-Mobile is built on just imagine what’s to come.”
