VoiceStream

T-Mobile US, Inc. is an American wireless network operator headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas and Bellevue, Washington, U.S. Its largest shareholder is a multinational telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG, which , holds 48.4 percent of the common stock. T-Mobile US is the second-largest wireless carrier in the United States, with more than 110 million subscribers .

The company was founded in 1994 as VoiceStream Wireless before Deutsche Telekom purchased it in 2001 and renamed it after its T-Mobile brand. T-Mobile US provides wireless voice and data services in the United States under the T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile brands (the latter was acquired via the purchase of MetroPCS in a reverse takeover in 2013, resulting in T-Mobile going public on the NASDAQ stock exchange), and also serves as the host network for many mobile virtual network operators. The company has annual revenues of over $40 billion. In 2015, ''Consumer Reports'' named T-Mobile the number one American wireless carrier.

On April 1, 2020, T-Mobile and Sprint Corporation completed their merger, with T-Mobile now being the sole owner of Sprint, making Sprint an effective subsidiary of T-Mobile until the Sprint brand was officially erased on August 2, 2020. As part of the merger, T-Mobile US acquired Assurance Wireless, the service subsidized by the Lifeline Assistance program of the federal Universal Service Fund.

History

T-Mobile U.S. traces its roots to the 1994 establishment of VoiceStream Wireless PCS as a subsidiary of Western Wireless Corporation. After its spin off from parent Western Wireless on May 3, 1999, VoiceStream Wireless was purchased by Deutsche Telekom AG in 2001 for $35 billion and renamed T-Mobile USA, Inc., in July 2002. In 2013, T-Mobile and MetroPCS finalised a merger of the two companies which started trading as T-Mobile U.S.

VoiceStream Wireless

VoiceStream Wireless PCS was established in 1994 as a subsidiary of Western Wireless Corporation to provide wireless personal communications services (PCS) in 19 FCC-defined metropolitan service areas in several western and southwestern states using the GSM digital wireless standard. VoiceStream Wireless' digital, urban service areas complemented the analog, rural service areas marketed by Western Wireless under the Cellular One brand.

Western Wireless spun off its VoiceStream Wireless division into a new company called VoiceStream Wireless Corporation in May 1999.

Omnipoint and Aerial acquisitions

In 2000, VoiceStream Wireless acquired two regional GSM carriers. Omnipoint Corporation, a regional network operator in the Northeastern U.S., was acquired on February 25, 2000. Aerial Communications Inc.; a regional network operator in the Columbus, Houston, Kansas City, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Pittsburgh, and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Orlando markets; was acquired on May 4, 2000. The combined company retired the Omnipoint and Aerial brands and completed integrating the three companies by converting to a single customer billing platform, implementing standard business practices and launching the VoiceStream brand and "GET MORE" marketing strategy in all markets.

Deutsche Telekom acquires VoiceStream and Powertel

On June 1, 2001, Deutsche Telekom (DT) completed its acquisition of VoiceStream Wireless, Inc., for $35 billion and Southern U.S. regional GSM network operator Powertel, Inc., for $24 billion. By the end of 2001, VoiceStream Wireless had 19,000 employees serving 7 million subscribers.

On September 2, 2001, VoiceStream Wireless Inc. adopted the name, T-Mobile USA, Inc. and began rolling out the T-Mobile brand, starting with locations in California and Nevada. T-Mobile USA, Inc. was an operating entity of T-Mobile International AG, before becoming a direct subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG.

SunCom acquisition

On September 17, 2007, the company announced the acquisition of regional GSM carrier SunCom Wireless Holdings, Inc. for $2.4 billion; the acquisition closed on February 22, 2008. By September 8, 2008, SunCom's operations were integrated with those of the company. The acquisition added SunCom's 1.1 million customers to the company's customer base and expanded the company's network coverage to include southern Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, eastern Tennessee, northeastern Georgia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Following the Suncom acquisition, T-Mobile possessed native network presence in all the major metro areas in the United States.

Aborted acquisition by AT&T

On March 20, 2011, AT&T announced its intention to purchase T-Mobile US from Deutsche Telekom. The Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice responded by filing a federal lawsuit on August 31, 2011, to block the merger. AT&T then decided to formally abandon the merger bid on December 19, 2011.

Merger with MetroPCS Communications

On October 3, 2012, MetroPCS Communications reached an agreement to merge with T-Mobile USA. MetroPCS shareholders would hold a 26% stake in the company formed after the merger, which retained the T-Mobile brand. While the new company was still the fourth-largest carrier in the United States (at the time), the acquisition gave T-Mobile access to more spectrum and financial resources to maintain competitiveness and expand its LTE network. The merger between T-Mobile USA Inc. and MetroPCS was officially approved by MetroPCS shareholders on April 24, 2013. The deal was structured as a reverse takeover; the combined company went public on the New York Stock Exchange as TMUS and became T-Mobile U.S. Inc. on May 1, 2013. The merger agreement gave Deutsche Telekom the option to sell its 72% stake in the company formed by the merger and valued at around $14.2 billion to a third party before the end of the 18-month lock-up period.

The "Un-carrier", additional wireless spectrum acquisition

In March 2013, T-Mobile introduced a major overhaul of its plan structure, marketed by branding themselves as being "the Un-carrier". A new contract-free pricing structure with simpler plans was introduced in which a phone's cost is paid over a two-year financing plan. The "Un-carrier" strategy has since been expanded to encompass other value-added services, such as a plan add-on allowing phone trade-ins for early upgrades twice per year, carrying over unused data allotments for up to a year, and zero-rating of selected music and video services (the latter locked to "DVD quality") over the mobile network, These moves came as part of an effort under new CEO John Legere to help revitalize the business as it improves its network quality.

Though this system is said to improve network quality, issues surrounding net neutrality infringement have also come to light. The type of zero-rating that is offered by T-Mobile allows it to charge higher rates to third-parties, meaning that ISP can prioritize the company that pays a higher premium. This makes it more difficult for smaller third-parties who are unable to pay the high premium charged by the ISP.

On June 28, 2013, T-Mobile agreed to buy wireless spectrum for the Mississippi Valley region from its competitor U.S. Cellular for around $308 million, allowing it to expand its 4G network across 29 more markets.

On January 6, 2014, T-Mobile signed agreements with Verizon Wireless to purchase some 700 MHz A-Block spectrum licenses for $2.365 billion. Moreover, a transfer of some AWS and PCS spectrum licenses with a value of $950 million has been agreed upon by T-Mobile and Verizon. The acquisition reportedly gave T-Mobile additional coverage for approximately 158 million people in 9 of the top 10 and 21 of the top 30 U.S. markets.

Merger with Sprint Corporation

On April 29, 2018, T-Mobile US and Sprint Corporation announced their intention to merge. Although the U.S. Justice Department initially approved the merger on July 26, 2019, the attorneys generals from several states filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to block it, alleging that the merger would result in higher prices for consumers in the range of $4.5 billion annually. District Judge Victor Marrero then announced his decision in favor of the merger on February 11, 2020, stating that it "is not likely to substantially lessen competition like the suing tateshad claimed it would" and that Sprint "does not have a sustainable long-term competitive strategy" to remain a viable competitor.

The merger finally closed on April 1, 2020, and then the Sprint brand was officially discontinued on August 2, 2020. Leadership, background and stock changes happened immediately, with customer-side changes happening over time. Billing was already showing the T-Mobile brand, and all retail, customer service, and all other company branding switched to the T-Mobile brand. T-Mobile and Sprint accounts were still managed by employees in separate systems and the company still offered Sprint branded SIM cards. New rate plans were also introduced as well for all new and existing customers from both companies, though all were grandfathered into their current plan should they choose not to switch to a new T-Mobile plan for at least three years.

As part of the Sprint merger, T-Mobile US acquired Assurance Wireless, the service subsidized by the Lifeline Assistance program of the federal Universal Service Fund.

Wireless networks

The company owns licenses to operate a cellular communications network in the 1900 MHz (PCS) and 1700 MHz (AWS) bands with coverage in many parts of the continental U.S., Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as licenses in the 700 MHz band (block A mostly) available in certain parts of the country. In 2017 T-Mobile also acquired a nationwide 600 MHz license. It expects to deploy this spectrum over the next few years as it is vacated by television stations across the country in stages. With respect to technology, depending on the location, in the 1900 MHz band it deploys GSM, UMTS/HSPA+, and/or LTE (Band 2 and 25); in the 1700 MHz band it deploys UMTS/HSPA+ and/or LTE (B4 and B66); LTE-only in the 700 MHz (B12) and 850 MHz (B5) bands; LTE and 5G NR on 600 MHz (B71) and 2500 MHz (B41) bands; and 5G NR only on 24 GHz (n258), 28 GHz (n261) and 39 GHz (n260) bands. Its LTE network also supports VoLTE. It provides coverage in areas where it does not own radio frequency spectrum licenses via roaming agreements with other operators of compatible networks. T-Mobile began its VoNR rollout in June 2022.

Cellular network

2G GSM

The company's predecessor, VoiceStream Wireless, began building a regional, 2G, 1900 MHz GSM, circuit-switched, digital cellular network in 1994 and first offered service in 1996 in Honolulu and Salt Lake City. From that starting point, the network has expanded in size through acquisitions of other cellular-network operators and additional spectrum purchases. The network has also expanded in capabilities through the introduction of new technologies. VoiceStream upgraded the 1900 MHz network to include packet switching via General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), then increased packet-switched data transmission speeds via Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution. In 2006, the company spent $4.2 billion to purchase 120 D, E or F block 1700 MHz AWS licenses and began rolling out 3G UMTS services in those frequency bands. The company upgraded network equipment and back-haul capabilities to enable HSPA (High Speed Packet Access), and later HSPA+ and LTE services.

Packet-switched data service first became available to users in the form of General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). Packet-switched data speeds increased when Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) was incorporated into the network. EDGE coverage was available within at least forty percent of the GSM footprint.

Both voice capacity and packet-switched data speed improved when 3G Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) equipment was installed in the network. On January 5, 2010, the company announced that it had upgraded its entire 3G network to HSPA 7.2 Mbit/s, an improvement from its previous peak of 3.6 Mbit/s. It also said that it planned to be the first U.S. carrier to deploy HSPA+ across its network by mid-2010. The company had finished HSPA+ trials in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and had begun deploying HSPA+ across its network. T-Mobile is currently planning to shut down its GSM network sometime in the future, but has yet to set a date.

3G UMTS

In September 2006, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) auctioned licenses in the first Advanced Wireless Services band. This band was an area of wireless spectrum, half in the 1700 MHz and half in the 2100 MHz frequencies, that was already in use by government services. The spectrum was planned to become available after the government users migrated to different frequencies.

The auction made numerous licenses available in overlapping market-areas, economic-areas, and regional levels. Each license was individually bid upon, and T-Mobile USA was the winner in 120 license auctions, at an aggregate price of $4.18 billion. As part of its winnings, T-Mobile USA gained nationwide coverage of 1.7 GHz and 2.1 GHz, with numerous areas being supplemented with additional licenses. Examples include New York City, Chicago, and Boston where T-Mobile USA acquired one-third (33 percent) of the available spectrum, or San Francisco, Houston, and Miami where they acquired 45 percent of the available spectrum.FCC'
"Auction 66 Summary"
Federal Communications Commission.

On October 6, 2006, two weeks after confirming its winning bids, the company announced its intentions to create a UMTS third-generation, or 3G, cellular network with the spectrum it had won. It said it would utilize and build on the experience of T-Mobile International's European subsidiaries, which already implemented 3G networks. At the time of initial roll-out, the company intended to offer 7.2 Mbit/s service, making the company's 3G network the fastest in the U.S. The upgrade was forecast to cost $2.6 billion, in addition to the $4.12 billion spent to acquire the spectrum licenses.Rash, Wayne (October 6, 2006).
"T-Mobile Moves to 3G"
''eWeek''. Retrieved 2011-07-30.

In the same announcement, the company indicated it had already begun to deploy about half of the upgraded equipment, beginning in major markets such as New York City. With the equipment in place, it would be able to activate its network as soon as the government agencies vacated the spectrum. The company had hoped to have its network activated by mid-2007, but as of September 2007, the government users had not vacated the AWS band.

The company began selling its first 3G-capable phone, the Nokia 6263, in November 2007 and announced in February 2008 that its 3G network would finally be activated "within the next few months". and released in the New York City market on May 1, 2008.

By 2009, the company had launched its 3G network in more than 200 markets, covering some 208 million points of presence (POPS). On June 28, 2010, the company announced that it would begin to upgrade its network from HSPA+ 21 to HSPA+ 42 beginning sometime in 2011. T-Mobile also markets HSPA and HSPA+ services as 4G. Throughout 2015, T-Mobile began refarming UMTS/HSPA services from the original AWS band to their PCS band to expand bandwidth available for LTE. This rendered a select number of T-Mobile 3G devices inoperable on the 3G network. T-Mobile plans to shut down its UMTS network on July 1, 2022.

4G LTE

On February 23, 2012, during the Q4 Earnings Call, T-Mobile laid out the future of their 4G upgrade path. They would roll out the LTE network on the AWS spectrum, and transition their HSPA+ network to the PCS band. To achieve compatibility with other networks and phones in the US, T-Mobile began this transition in March 2013, and the rollout of LTE is currently underway as T-Mobile expands to more markets. Due to the failed acquisition of T-Mobile USA by AT&T, T-Mobile USA received additional UMTS frequency band IV (AWS) spectrum. On March 26, 2013, T-Mobile began rolling out LTE in 7 markets: Baltimore, San Jose, Washington, D.C., Phoenix, Las Vegas, Kansas City, and Houston.

On August 21, 2012, the FCC approved a deal between T-Mobile and Verizon in which T-Mobile gained additional AWS spectrum licenses in 125 Cellular Market Areas.

On February 25, 2014, T-Mobile announced in its Q4 2013 earnings call that its 4G LTE network covered 209 million people in 273 metro areas. They also planned to start rolling out their 700 MHz A-Block spectrum by the end of 2014, which by the end of the rollout would cover 158 million people. This spectrum led to improved LTE coverage overall in these areas, particularly indoors.

On March 13, 2014, T-Mobile announced a new plan to upgrade its entire 2G/EDGE network to 4G LTE. They expected 50% to be done by the end of 2014, and it to be "substantially complete" by the middle of 2015.

On December 16, 2014, T-Mobile announced during CEO John Legere's Un-carrier 8.0 interview that their 4G LTE network covered 260 million people and their 700 MHz Band 12 LTE had been rolled out in Cleveland, Colorado Springs, Minneapolis, and Washington, D.C. They expected to cover 280 million with LTE by mid-2015 and 300 million by the end of 2015. They also stated that they covered 121 metro areas with their Wideband LTE.

On October 27, 2015, T-Mobile announced in its Q3 2015 earnings call that they covered over 300 million people with LTE, reaching their 2015 end of year goal months ahead of schedule. They had 245 markets with Wideband (at least 15+15 MHz) LTE. They also had 204 markets with Extended Range 700 MHz Band 12 LTE covering around 175 million people. Their coverage map revealed that they now had new native LTE coverage in Montana, the Dakotas, Eastern West Virginia, and Northern Michigan.

On May 25, 2016, T-Mobile announced that it will be purchasing the 700Mhz A-block license (LTE band 12) for the Chicago metro area. When this transaction closes, together with several other pending 700Mhz license acquisitions, T-Mobile expects to possess 700Mhz licenses covering a total of 272 million people, or 84% of the US population – including 10 of the top 10 largest US metro areas. T-Mobile refers to its 700Mhz low-band network as 'Extended-range LTE' and claims it penetrates buildings and reaches out farther than its PCS and AWS only network. In September 2016, T-Mobile launched 4x4 MIMO and 3 channel carrier aggregation allowing theoretical speeds of 400 Mbit/s, and also announced that the company's LTE network reaches over 312 million potential subscribers.

In early 2017, T-Mobile purchased 45% of available 600 MHz spectrum in the US, covering 100% geographically of the US. They started the rollout of LTE on this band on August 15, 2017.

In 2018 T-Mobile has stated they will not discontinue rollout and upgrades of LTE in favor of 5G. Instead, they will continue to grow and support their LTE network to work simultaneously with 5G.

As of January 22, 2019, the LTE-Advanced upgrade has been deployed in 6,000 cities and towns.

As of October 28, 2019, LTE now covers 326 million people.

As of February 6, 2020, the 600 MHz network reaches 8,900 cities and towns, covering 248 million people.

5G NR

= Preparations

=
On June 25, 2018, T-Mobile and Nokia completed their first bi-directional 5G NR transmission in the 28 GHz frequency compliant with 3GPP 5G standards, showing a big step forward to building a nationwide 5G Network.

On November 20, 2018, T-Mobile and Nokia completed their first downlink 5G NR transmission in the 600 MHz frequency compliant with 3GPP 5G standards in Spokane, Washington. 28 GHz only reaches roughly , whereas 600 MHz can reach hundreds of square miles. This marks one step closer to a rural 5G network, one highly sought improvement with 5G technology (high-speed data in rural areas).

On January 7, 2019, T-Mobile and Ericsson completed the first audio and video call using a live 5G NR network using 3 separate frequency bands; 600 MHz, 28 GHz, and 39 GHz. This was also the first live network test with successful uplink and downlink.

On July 11, 2019, T-Mobile and Ericsson completed their first n71 (600 MHz) data session in their lab in Bellevue, Washington on a commercial 5G modem, the Snapdragon X55, which is the first commercial 5G modem to feature the n71 band. However, the modem was pre-market and not in any commercially available device.

= Vendors

=
On July 30, 2018, T-Mobile and Nokia announced a $3.5 billion contract for equipment and software to build out a nationwide 5G network that will be compliant with 3GPP 5G standards. The network will use the 600 MHz and 28 GHz frequency bands.

On September 11, 2018, T-Mobile and Ericsson announced a $3.5 Billion contract for equipment to build out a nationwide 5G network that will be compliant with 3GPP 5G standards. The network will use the 600 MHz and 28 GHz frequency bands. This marks $7 billion already invested in T-Mobile's 5G network, which will use both companies equipment.

= Launches

=
On February 26, 2018, T-Mobile announced it would roll out 5G to 30 cities by the end of 2018, with compatible handsets delivering early 2019. They also stated their 5G network will be able to work simultaneously with their 4G LTE network, delivering faster speeds and broader range.

On June 28, 2019, T-Mobile officially launched their 5G mmWave network with the launch of their first commercially available 5G NR device, the Galaxy S10 5G. The network has launched in 6 cities; Los Angeles, NYC, Atlanta, Dallas, Las Vegas, and Cleveland.

On August 4, 2020, T-Mobile launched standalone (SA) mode across their national 5G network, becoming the first operator in the world to do so. They also stated SA mode improved 5G coverage because a connection to a mid-band LTE cell was no longer required as it was in non-standalone mode (NSA).

= Extended-Range 5G

=
On November 7, 2019, T-Mobile announced that its 600 MHz 5G network will launch on December 6, 2019. The network will launch alongside the first two 600 MHz 5G-capable devices, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G and the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren Edition.

On December 2, 2019, T-Mobile officially launched its 600 MHz 5G network. It launched with an initial coverage of 200 million people and over 5,000 cities or towns.

As of January 6, 2022, T-Mobile's 600 MHz network covers an estimated 310 million pops.

= Ultra Capacity 5G

=
On April 21, 2020, T-Mobile launched the T-Mobile branded 2.5 GHz as Ultra-Capacity 5G with the spectrum it acquired in the Sprint merger in Philadelphia. As of January 31, 2022, Ultra-Capacity 5G (including 2.5 GHz and 24/28/39 GHz) covers 210 million pops, by providing an average speed of 400 MB/s.

T-Mobile also stated that the same network will go live in New York, NY being the first city with all 3 parts of T-Mobile's "layer cake" strategy to 5G NR of having 3 separate bands on low, mid and high band frequencies.

T-Mobile has also acquired C-Band 3.7 GHz licenses in early 2021 for an average of 40 MHz of spectrum covering 225 million people nationwide, bidding over $9.3 billion in licenses. This spectrum is currently pending and is going be in use by the end of 2023, adding an additional layer of "Ultra-Capacity 5G" with deployment starting in early 2023.

On January 31, 2022, T-Mobile announced that they have bid on C-Band 3.45 GHz licenses for approximately $3 billion from Auction 110 auctioned off by Federal Communications Commission for an average of 21 MHz of spectrum to bring up to 184 million people covered across the United States, placing second behind AT&T. T-Mobile intends to deploy this spectrum alongside its C-Band holdings in 2023.

Roaming

T-Mobile has roaming arrangements with a number of national and regional mobile network operators, including AT&T Mobility.

As of 2008, prepaid customers have almost all of the postpaid domestic roaming privileges and restricted international roaming to Canada and Mexico.

In 2009, T-Mobile USA began removing AT&T Mobility roaming coverage in many locations across the country, and updated its on-line coverage maps to reflect the smaller coverage area. AT&T Mobility roaming remains available in select locations, primarily on smaller carriers that were acquired by AT&T Mobility after long-term roaming contracts were in place between T-Mobile and the smaller carriers, including Centennial Wireless and Edge Wireless.

On June 29, 2010, the company launched voice service in the Gulf of Mexico on GSM via roaming agreement throug
Broadpoint
T-Mobile USA was scheduled to launch data service in Fall 2010. Also in 2010, T-Mobile US became a member of the FreeMove alliance.

On October 9, 2013, T-Mobile announced Simple Global, a service included with eligible Simple Choice plans. This service allows one to roam in over 100 countries with unlimited text and speed-limited data, and make calls at $0.20/minute. High-speed data passes will be available for purchase. On March 7, 2014, T-Mobile announced this number will be increasing to 122 countries. If one is connected to WiFi in one of these countries, and their phone supports WiFi calling, all calls and texts to and from the USA are free, and work the same as if they were on the cellular network.

On July 15, 2015, T-Mobile launched Mobile Without Borders, a service included with all new T-Mobile plans and available as an add-on to grandfathered or promotional plans for $10. This service allows the user to use their normal voice, text message, and data allotments while roaming in Mexico and Canada. Most T-Mobile services are available while roaming, with the notable exception of using the data in one's Data Stash.

In August 2015, T-Mobile joined the Competitive Carriers Association's Data Services Hub, enabling the company to expand roaming partnerships with over a dozen rural and regional carriers. Smaller carriers will now be able to access T-Mobile's LTE network for roaming and T-Mobile will be able to expand roaming partnerships and extend its footprint with members whose network technologies had previously been incompatible.

In October 2017, T-Mobile announced that starting November 12, 2017, LTE-speeds will be limited at 5 GB (with speeds going at speeds at 128 kbit/s or 256 kbit/s on some plans) while data roaming in Canada and Mexico still remains unlimited. However, calling and texting in these countries still remain free from roaming charges. T-Mobile also announced a partnership with US Cellular in California, Iowa, Washington, and Wisconsin to expand 4G LTE coverage. Compatible device required.

In August 2022, T-Mobile and SpaceX announced a partnership called Coverage Above and Beyond where the latter's satellites would provide connections for cellphones throughout the US, even in remote areas with no existing service. The goal was to allow customers to have service everywhere, with no dead zones. Starlink satellites would function like cell towers. At the time of announcement, the plan was to start with text messages and messaging apps and using existing hardware as opposed to new phones.

Radio frequency spectrum chart

T-Mobile Network

The following chart describes radio frequency spectrum bands accessible by the company's customers.

Past Networks

The following chart lists the networks that T-Mobile previously operated.

Sprint Network

Sprint's legacy network is in the process of being decommissioned and integrated into T-Mobile's network.
Sprint's CDMA network was completely shut down on May 31, 2022. Sprint's LTE network was discontinued on June 30, 2022.

T-Mobile HotSpots

T-Mobile has used the term "''Hotspot''" to represent various products and technologies.

Wi-Fi network (public)

The company operates a nationwide Wi-Fi Internet access network under the T-Mobile HotSpots brand. The T-Mobile HotSpots network consists of thousands of Wi-Fi access points installed in businesses, hotels, and airports throughout the U.S.

The T-Mobile HotSpot service offers access to a nationwide network of approximately 8,350 access points, installed in venues such as Starbucks coffeehouses, FedEx Office Office and Print Centers, Hyatt hotels and resorts, Red Roof Inns, Sofitel hotels, Novotel hotels, the airline clubs of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, as well as airports.

The T-Mobile HotSpots network can be traced to the company's 2002 purchase of bankrupt wireless ISP MobileStar, which began building its network in 1998. After completing the purchase, the company expanded the network into 400 Borders bookstores, as well as 100 of the most-frequented airport clubs and lounges operated by American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines.

On September 14, 2014, T-Mobile partnered up with GoGo to provide free texting on airplanes for its customers. GoGo services are provided on Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines and Alaska Airlines.

On June 6, 2016, T-Mobile expanded its partnership with GoGo to offer T-Mobile users one hour of free WiFi on customers phones while T-Mobile One Plus and One Plus International users also get free WiFi throughout the entire flight. T-Mobile also included other messaging apps (iMessage, Google Hangouts, WhatsApp and Viber) in addition to SMS texting being provided since September 2014.

Wi-Fi network (private)

T-Mobile has also used the term to describe Wi-Fi Access Points that it sold to end users to expand their cell phone network to phones equipped to also receive Wi-Fi using a VOIP-like technology. (The models included at least two by Linksys: the WRTU54G-TM and the WRT54G-TM and one by D-Link: the TM-G5240.)
In 2022 - T-Mobile is offering internet Wi-Fi service at a reduced rate with no contracts. However they are requiring the user give them their full Social Security number at sign up which is a violation for those on Social Security and could possibly cause a rise in identity theft.

Finances

For the fiscal year 2017, T-Mobile US reported earnings of US$4.481 billion, with an annual revenue of US$40.604 billion, an increase of 8.3% over the previous fiscal cycle. T-Mobile's shares traded at over $62 per share and its market capitalization was valued at over US$58.1 billion in November 2018.

Products and services

Mobile phone & data

Magenta MAX

On January 22, 2021, it was announced that T-Mobile unveiled its newest 5G smartphone plan that offers no throttling called T-Mobile Magenta MAX, the first U.S. wireless carrier to do so. Customers get unlimited Premium Data (4G and 5G), unlimited 4K UHD video streaming, Netflix on Us for single line plans, mobile high-speed hotspot data at 40GB, Unlimited talk, text, and data in Mexico and Canada with up to 5GB of high-speed data, T-Mobile Tuesdays free thank you gifts and discounts, unlimited Gogo in-flight texting and Wi-Fi all flight long, free texting and data in 210 countries and destinations, and free Scam Shield Premium protection, including free Scam Block and Caller ID. Magenta MAX cost the same as the Magenta Plus plan at $57 per line per month for three lines with autopay with taxes and fees included.

Magenta & Magenta Plus

On June 2, 2019, T-Mobile announced the launch of Magenta and Magenta Plus plans to phase out and replace the T-Mobile ONE family of plans. The Magenta family of plans build on the existing features of the T-Mobile ONE and ONE Plus plans, but now include additional features like 3GB of Mobile HotSpot Data for standard Magenta plans, and retaining the same enhanced HD Streaming, 20GB of Mobile HotSpot Data, and other features of the T-Mobile ONE Plus plans.

T-Mobile has discontinued the Magenta Plus plan but upgrades their Magenta plan by providing 100 GB of premium data and bumping the high-speed hotspot data to 5 GB without overall price change.

Military, First Responder, and Unlimited 55+

Alongside the T-Mobile Magenta family of plans are the specialized plans offered to Military personnel, First Responders, and seniors age 55 and up.

Military and First Responder plans allow for qualified service members to receive 50% off of standard pricing Magenta and Magenta Plus plans. Customers must verify their affiliation within 45 days of activation or switching to the plan in order to retain the discounted offer.

The Unlimited 55+ allows customers at or over the age of 55 to receive a set discounted price on standard rate plans, however these accounts are limited to only 2 lines per account. Certain customers were permitted to add a third line to their account during a specific promotional period.

T-Mobile ONE w/ ONE Plus Family

In August 2018, T-Mobile introduced T-Mobile ONE w/ ONE Plus Family plan, which allows HD streaming and adds 20 GB of mobile hotspot at 4G LTE speeds, and Name ID.

As of June 2, 2019, the T-Mobile ONE and ONE w/ ONE Plus Family plans have been retired and replaced by the new Magenta plans.

T-Mobile ONE

In August 2016, T-Mobile introduced T-Mobile ONE. It will be the only rate plan offered in the future, with plans to gradually phase out Simple Choice. The plan has been criticized by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and others for potentially violating net neutrality rules and making previously included features paid extras.

As of June 2, 2019, the T-Mobile ONE and ONE w/ ONE Plus Family plans have been retired and replaced by the new Magenta plans.

T-Mobile Essentials

The T-Mobile Essentials plan provides customers unlimited talk, text, and data service at a lower price than a standard Magenta or Magenta Plus plan. However, the Essentials plan does not include taxes and fees as the Magenta and Magenta Plus plans do. It also allows T-Mobile to prioritize other customers over Essentials customers' data usage on the network at any time during network congestion or peak times.

Netflix On US

T-Mobile offers many customers Netflix on Us, which covers the cost of a standard Netflix subscription. Customers can upgrade their subscription to Netflix's premium service for an additional cost, which will be added to the customer's T-Mobile bill.

Simple Choice

In March 2013, T-Mobile introduced a new streamlined plan, Simple Choice, for new customers. This is part of an initiative called ''Un-carrier'' which drops contracts, subsidized phones, overage fees for data, and early termination fees.

Capping unlimited data users

On August 31, 2015, T-Mobile announced it will ask users who abuse its unlimited on-smartphone data plan by violating T-Mobile's Terms & Conditions regarding tethering (which like unlimited on-smartphone data, remains unlimited, but offers a 14 GB high-speed allotment before throttling takes effect), by permanently removing user access to unlimited plans and migrating users to a tiered data plan. By doing so, all plans after a select amount of inclusive high-speed data, result in automatic throttled speeds, preventing unlimited high-speed tethering use and abuse of the network. T-Mobile stated that there are a small handful of users who abuse the tethering plan by altering device software and/or the use of an Android app that masks T-Mobile's ability monitoring whether data is on-smartphone, or through smartphone mobile hotspot (tethering) by mimicking all data as on-smartphone use, with some customers abusing the service by using as much as 2 TB per month, causing speed issues for all other customers.

InReach program

The InReach program provides a free cell phone and a limited number of voice minutes each month for low-income

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