It’s an excellent year for rusty, broken phones. With two great trade-in deals, the dusty old phone in your desk drawer running Android frozen-dessert-something-or-other — the one with the broken screen — saw its stock rise recently. T-Mobile and Verizon are both promising to buy your old, broken phone and upgrade it with a new 5G model.
This generosity is motivated by several factors. Verizon, in particular, has written extensive checks to pay for new C-band frequencies, which are a highly desirable spectrum for 5G due to their range and speed. The company has told its shareholders that the significant investment will help it expand its customer base and boost the amount of revenue it earns on current customers. At its March analyst session, it told investors that “with C-band included, we think step-ups to premium [plans] would only accelerate.” As a result, it’s not shocking that the hacked phone contract necessitates a pledge to a “pick unlimited plan.”
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Meanwhile, T-Mobile needs to take advantage of a reasonably good side at the moment. It has used every opportunity to call itself the “leader in 5G,” It is equally concentrated on attracting new consumers, bringing them a 5G smartphone, and hooking them up to its 5G network. On the company’s first-quarter earnings call, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert touted the popularity of the latest Magenta Max plan. It is an unlimited plan that doesn’t enforce slowdowns until you cross a specific monthly data threshold — as a kind of “if you create it, they will come” moment.
According to Sievert, customers on the planned use 70% more bandwidth than traditional LTE customers, and they use their 5G data link in cases where they would otherwise opt for a public Wi-Fi network to access. The free 5G phone is just the beginning of the carrier hopes will be a long and profitable partnership.
Outside of those two firms, US wireless carriers are bracing for significant changes this year, the effects of which will be felt by the majority of us in some way. Compared to last year’s turbulent first quarter, telecom companies started the year on a high note, with most adding more customers than they did in this quarter last year. T-Mobile added a total of 773,000 postpaid phone subscribers, while AT&T said 595,000, the most in ten years. Retail stores reopening to welcome customers with stimulus checks ready to spend had a positive effect on businesses across the industry.
While they are in a stronger position than when the nation began closing down this time last year, there are significant obstacles to tackle shortly. Verizon and AT&T, in particular, face a big project in preparing to launch the newly acquired C-band spectrum — an expensive venture on top of what they owe the federal government for the licenses. C-band is essential to those two firms, counting on it to resurrect their floundering national 5G networks.
Verizon is not wasting time; having vowed to invest $10 billion on C-band rollout over the next three years, it is on track to spend between $2 and $3 billion by the end of the year and has already purchased half of the required equipment. Meanwhile, AT&T is taking a more cautious approach, citing uncertainty in strained global supply chains and the possibility that other auctions this year will help fill out the company’s spectrum portfolio.
Meanwhile, this gives T-Mobile even more reason to pursue new subscribers as the other players catch up to its relatively strong spot in spectrum holdings.
The company increased its investor outlook and now plans to add a net of 4.4 to 4.9 million postpaid customers this year, up from 4.0 to 4.7 million previously.
Another storm is brewing, one that could impact hundreds of thousands of wireless customers: T-imminent Mobile’s closure of its old CDMA network, on which many Boost Mobile (now operated by Dish) customers rely. T-Mobile, according to Dish, is proceeding with the closure much sooner than it said it would serve as an anti-competitive strategy.
The company has also requested the California Public Utilities Commission reopen the Sprint/T-Mobile merger lawsuit. It has asked lawmakers on Capitol Hill to look into the situation. If the closure goes ahead as expected, many Boost Mobile customers will be looking for a new phone — and possibly a new wireless network — soon.
So, what comes next? For one thing, we should expect the violent play for new customers to begin, as will the dull roar of the 5G Hype Machine, which we are all sick of hearing by now.
Final Words:
If you upgrade to a 5G smartphone, your carrier can try to upsell you to one of those unlimited premium plans in addition to the device offers. Verizon is dedicated to such consumer “step-ups,” and Sievert suggested that more Magenta Max-like deals could be on the way, saying the initiative is “just the beginning.” So, if you plan to dust off your old phone and trade it in for a new one this year, go ahead — you may as well put an old piece of technology to work for you. Only make sure to pay close attention to the fine print.
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