T-Mobile Evolves Its Strategy Beyond Disruption

In recent years, T-Mobile in the US has enjoyed a remarkable turnaround. In 2013, it was unable to sell iPhones because it hadn’t reached a deal with Apple. In 2025, it has 131 million mobile subscribers, beating out previously distant rival AT&T.

The company achieved this strong growth over the past 12 years through its “un-carrier” initiative, which aimed to disrupt the market by offering competitive, simplified pricing and a robust 5G network service. This approach provided affordability and quality, resonating with customers.

In our recent report, we analyse how the carrier is acting less like a disruptor and more like a market leader. T-Mobile US still uses the un-carrier tagline in its marketing, but it has moved beyond this in its deals and offers, its response to uncertain macroeconomic conditions, its satellite service and developments to its network infrastructure.

Pricing and Plans

One example of this change is in how it displays prices. Since 2017, T-Mobile US has been advertising its mobile plans with taxes and fees included in the upfront cost, promoting transparency. However, it recently announced it’ll stop doing this for its current plans.

Another example is T-Mobile’s deals following the release of the iPhone 16 in 2024. The operator offered very similar plans to AT&T, with customers receiving an iPhone 16 or 16 Pro for no additional fee with an eligible trade-in and an unlimited data plan (see Investigating iPhone 16 Trade-In Offers). These small changes highlight T-Mobile’s position among the market leaders. It no longer feels the need to position itself in opposition to its major competitors, Verizon and AT&T.

When asked about President Trump’s tariffs during the company’s 1Q25 earnings call, CEO Mike Sievert said, “we’re going to see that the customer is going to wind up having to bear that cost”. Disruptors typically seek to capitalize on challenging economic conditions, absorbing costs to lure customers away from more established rivals, as seen in the UK mobile virtual network operator market. In its position among the market leaders, T-Mobile US isn’t going out of its way to absorb these costs.

Satellite Connectivity

One of T-Mobile’s most ambitious strategies is its partnership with Starlink to launch T-Satellite. The service aims to provide cellular connectivity to rural areas with no mobile coverage. Satellite connectivity presents network operators with new revenue opportunities, and T-Mobile US is hoping to take advantage by being the first to market with a mass-orientated service.

The service currently offered by T-Mobile US and Starlink is difficult to describe as disruptive: the operator plans to charge $10 per month for T-Satellite when the beta trial concludes, with only emergency messaging and SMS capabilities available. These features are included for free in iPhones since the 14 series in the US, so it’s hard to argue that T-Mobile is creating value, especially as iPhones make up over half of the American smartphone market.

In addition, there have been reports of poor-quality connections from the service. Improved quality and capabilities like low-level data rates — which the carrier claims it’ll offer by October 2025 — could position T-Satellite to shake up the US telecom market.

Network Infrastructure

Other strategies also demonstrate how T-Mobile is setting the agenda, with AT&T and Verizon seeking to disrupt its lead. In April 2025, it announced it was the first US carrier to launch 5G-Advanced and in June 2025, Ookla Speedtest named it the best network in the US. It’s also making strong headway with network slicing in the public sector.

The company leads in the fixed wireless access market, with over 6 million customers. AT&T and Verizon are also investing heavily in this area as they seek to protect their share of the home broadband market, which they had previously dominated. T-Mobile’s success here has encouraged it to move into the US fibre market, acquiring providers Metronet and Lumos. The carrier launched its T-Mobile Fiber service in June 2025, and although it may have moved away from competitive pricing in some areas, it has retained this tactic for fibre.

As T-Mobile US settles into its position as a market leader, we expect it to evolve further and demonstrate its power and influence. The carrier will be more selective about when to be disruptive and will instead focus more on consolidation and scale.