T-Mobile US Inc. plans to offer 50,000 select mobile customers a $50-a-month home broadband service, in its latest effort to show how its pending $26.5 billion Sprint Corp. acquisition would bring more competition to the industry.
The pilot program will be available by invitation only, in areas where T-Mobile’s LTE 4G network has capacity to deliver high-speed internet access, according to a statement. T-Mobile has said it will cover more than half the nation’s households with advanced 5G broadband service by 2024 if it adds Sprint’s capacity.
Critics of the Sprint deal say combining the two smallest national wireless carriers will lead to fewer choices and higher prices. In response, T-Mobile Chief Executive Officer John Legere has said the new company would be a stronger competitor to giants Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. Legere even promised to not raise prices for three years if the deal was approved.
T-Mobile also hoped to introduce a “disruptive TV service” last year to show that it could challenge pay-TV giants like Comcast Corp. and Dish Network Corp. But T-Mobile shelved its TV plans, vowing to have something more groundbreaking this year.
