What the Sprint/T-Mobile Merger Means for T-Mobile Customers

T-Mobile and Sprint are merging—finally. If you're an existing T-Mobile customer, this isn't going to affect you at all for now. Sprint, not T-Mobile, is having its network broken down and used for parts. Coming from the magenta side, you're just going to see better coverage, better quality, and more 5G. T-Mobile hasn't given nearly enough details about how the transition is going to work going forward, but we have some guesses.

Do I Need a New Phone?

Not any time soon. T-Mobile's 4G network will remain pretty much as-is for a while. Ultimately, the carrier may bring in some of Sprint's low-band 4G spectrum to enhance T-Mobile's coverage and reach, but that will just be frosting on T-Mobile's existing cake.

The real opportunity comes with 5G, but there's good news there, too. All of T-Mobile's 5G phones support Sprint's mid-band 5G spectrum, so even if you have an existing T-Mobile 5G phone, you don't need to upgrade to get the expanded coverage and speed that will come from turning Sprint's airwaves over to T-Mobile.

What Happens to My Plan?

T-Mobile has committed to maintaining the service plans of anyone who was a subscriber to either service as of February 2019, for the next three years as of this week (five years, in California). However, you should expect that those legacy service plans won't always survive a new phone purchase. Upgrading your phone means T-Mobile may ask you to upgrade to one of its current service plans; switching from an older 4G phone to a new 5G phone means it almost certainly will.

As part of the merger, T-Mobile is offering some inexpensive new service plans. You'll be able to get a 2GB data plan, plus unlimited talk and text, for $15, or a 5GB plan for $30.

The merged company has committed to not raising prices for three years, so look at Sprint's and T-Mobile's prices right now; that's what you'll pay on a new plan. Expect prices to go up after three more years.

When Will I See Improvements?

Well, that's the most irritating question. T-Mobile tech head Neville Ray announced on Twitter that the carrier has already begun to roll out mid-band 5G in Philadelphia. But the only other promise the company is willing to give around merging the networks involves the year 2024. Obviously, it's going to do things faster than that—everything about Ray's history tells me so—but right now the day-to-day future is as unknown and confusing for consumers as the march of COVID-19.

How About Stores?

Streets and malls that have both T-Mobile and Sprint stores are likely to consolidate their options, but there will be at least as many T-Mobile stores as there were before.

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What if I'm With Metro?

The merger should also have no impact on Metro by T-Mobile customers, for now.

Is This All Good or Bad?

I've been following US and Canadian networks for a decade, which has been a great chance to compare a nation with four strong carriers to a very similar nation with three strong ones and a few weaker ones. Canadian networks and coverage are generally better than the experience in the US—the networks are faster and more solid. They're also more expensive to use, which I anticipate will happen in the US once T-Mobile's price promise expires in three years.

One backstop we have in the US that Canada doesn't have is our vibrant MVNO (virtual carrier) market. Companies like Google Fi, Ting, and US Mobile provide flexible, low-cost service on the major carriers' networks. Until now, the low-cost duel between Sprint and T-Mobile has powered a lot of that market. I'll be curious to see if that continues.