Subscribers Are Plentiful at the New T-Mobile

The U.S. wireless industry has a swaggering new kid on the block. For the first time since closing its acquisition of Sprint on April 1, T-Mobile US reported consolidated results for the combined company. It has spent recent months merging the two networks, brands, and operations—and this evening's report shows that the work is already paying off.

T-Mobile knocked it out of the park on the subscriber front, adding 1.1 million new monthly subscribers. That compares with its guidance for between zero and 150,000 additions, and Wall Street's average forecast of just under 600,000. T-Mobile managed to beat even the most optimistic analyst’s forecast of 900,000. It’s a return to prior form: In the first quarter, T-Mobile broke a 27-quarter streak of net postpaid additions of more than a million.

On the company's earnings call, newly minted CEO Mike Sievert claimed that T-Mobile's now 98.3 million-strong subscriber base earned it the title of the No. 2 wireless company in the U.S. from AT&T, behind only Verizon Communications. The companies all count and report their subscribers using slightly different methods, so it's not an exact, apples-to-apples comparison. But T-Mobile is certainly growing faster and knocking on its rivals' doors.

Going forward, T-Mobile is focused on 5G and winning market share. It has begun running advertising emphasizing next-generation networks and telling customers about its merger. The company combined the two brands under T-Mobile last Sunday. Sprint.com now redirects to t-mobile.com.

Ahead of the relaunch, T-Mobile also unveiled an aggressively priced promotion that undercuts similar plans from competitors. Its new offer is for four unlimited lines at $25 a month each, which includes 5G access. T-Mobile said today that its 5G network now covers 250 million people across 1.3 million square miles in the U.S.

The long-term impact of the T-Mobile/Sprint merger on the competitive dynamics of the U.S. wireless industry won't be known for some time, and three months is too short a time to judge. But all the early signs point to T-Mobile lighting a fire under its competitors.