The wireless communications services industry is highly competitive in the US. T-Mobile US is considered the third largest mobile operator in the U.S. for Business users, after AT&T and Verizon. T-Mobile counts some 80% of Fortune 50 companies as customers and called out deployments or pilots with major U.S. banks, energy companies, pharmaceutical firms and national retailers.
In 2020, T-Mobile for Business recorded its best year according to their Annual Report, more than tripling their net customer additions and delivering double digit-percentage service revenue growth, even while working through mid-year merger with Sprint. T-Mobile helped businesses, government, and school of all sizes. T-Mobile for Business is focusing on using 5G network advantage to become a leading mobile partner for businesses and a major growth engine for T-Mobile. According to Mike Katz, the EVP, T-Mobile for Business (The Un‑carrier Means Business), T-Mobile US is working to double its enterprise market share from less than 10% over the next five years. The Un-carrier was boosted upon the completion of the merger with Sprint on April 1, 2020, which resulted in Sprint and its subsidiaries becoming wholly owned consolidated subsidiaries of T-Mobile US. Through the merger, T-Mobile acquired Sprint’s customers and 2.5 GHz mid-band spectrum, among other assets.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a widespread health crisis that has adversely affected businesses, economies, and financial markets worldwide, and has caused significant volatility in the U.S. T-Mobile US is on a mission to build their brand as “top of mind for every CIO across America”. They see the shift to WFH bolstering the value proposition of the company’s WFX offering; that bundles unlimited 5G plans; home office internet designed for secure business use; and the T-Mobile Collaborate cloud solution for business calling, messaging and conferencing, all of which give workforce the speed to connect and the tools to collaborate where work happens.
In terms of tailoring 5G for vertical use cases, T-Mobile US provides specialized sales and service teams attuned to the needs of specific verticals. T-Mobile US also provides Machine-to-Machine (“M2M”) and Mobile Virtual Network Operator (“MVNO”) customers access to their network. This access and the customer relationship is managed by wholesale partners. Further, T-Mobile offers a device leasing plan, they expect to realize economic benefit from the estimated residual value of a leased device and find new audiences and relevance as companies struggle to support their remote workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information on Device-as-a-Service (DaaS), please read COVID-19 a Catalyst for Business Device-as-a-Service (DaaS) Adoption.
T-Mobile goes after Businesses and AT&T and Verizon should be concerned. T-Mobile has already started to make some inroads towards business accounts with its partnership with Microsoft (i.e. Microsoft 365) for small to medium businesses. As customers become more and more tech savvy during self-isolation they demand personalized experiences and offers from operators. T-Mobile’s WFX offering may be compelling for some enterprises, especially given the challenges brought about by the pandemic. In fact, 43% of employees in US would be happy or extremely happy to work from home in future based on SA’s report - Understanding Covid 19's Impact on Remote Working Findings from Strategy. Additionally, T-Mobile claims that it will match or beat the prices enterprises pay with other carriers while delivering fully unlimited 5G. So, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for T-Mobile for Business in order to achieve that 10% growth in next 5 years, but clearly, these announcements are a concrete step forward. AT&T and Verizon currently dominate the business market today in the U.S., but both companies should be looking over its shoulders right now. Hence, we expect outlook remains positive for T-Mobile US and they will play a big role in helping businesses across the Americas thrive in the years ahead.