One of T-Mobile’s ambitions for the next four years is to be the wireless leader among those living in rural America. And in order to make this happen, the Un-Carrier is already investing and gearing up for this massive growth.
T-Mobile’s executive vice president of consumer group Jon Freier sees this as a “huge opportunity” for the brand. The executive shared that they “have the opportunity to bring to smaller markets in rural areas something that they’ve never seen, which is the best network and the very best value.”
It is a long road ahead for Freier, especially since his goal is to increase the company’s market share in rural areas to around 20% by 2025. But with the company’s possession of the 600MHz spectrum that they purchased back in 2017, it seems like a doable feat. This spectrum is suitable for areas with a vast geography. And with the combination of Sprint’s 2.5GHz and 5G technology, it’s really possible to make this goal happen.
As of this writing, T-Mo’s 600MHz spectrum already covers 295 million individuals with 5G. By the end of 2023, they are expected to increase that number to 300 million with its 2.5GHz spectrum. Company officials revealed that T-Mo is already building 10,000 new cell towers in rural areas to achieve this goal.
Along with this growth, Freier revealed that they will be opening “a couple hundred” of new stores in rural areas this year. And in a span of five years, they will be opening “hundreds more.” Once these stores open, customers in rural areas will have access to T-Mo’s services. They will also be able to achieve their promise of hiring around 7,500 new employees through its retail expansion.
Another strategy that T-Mo is doing right now to achieve its goal is by inking an agreement with Walmart. T-Mobile has partnered with the retail giant to offer its services in around 2,200 stores; 1,000 of which will be located in rural areas that the Un-Carrier will be expanding in.
Finally, T-Mobile plans to sell in-home broadband services in areas where it has excess network capacity. In doing so, they will be able to achieve their plans of expanding in rural areas.
Source: 1