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AT&T's focus on essential needs leaves T-Mobile 5G in dust

T-Mobile might be outflanked by AT&T this year.

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By Anam Hamid

Published: Mar 09, 2026, 6:35 PM

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AT&T has a winning strategy. | Image by PhoneArena

While T-Mobile currently leads AT&T in subscriber count and is poised to challenge Verizon for the top spot, AT&T may emerge as the true strategic victor this year.

All the right moves

While T-Mobile is leaning on 5G internet, AT&T is playing the longer game by scaling its fiber footprint.

Seeking Alpha expects AT&T to overtake T-Mobile in 2026, in the stock market anyway. The analysis is based on the fourth-quarter results of the two carriers.

AT&T added more than 1 million fiber customers for the eighth consecutive year and 875,000 AT&T Internet Air subscribers. Fiber revenue increased 17% year-over-year to $8.6 billion. AT&T fiber is now available to 32 million households and businesses.

T-Mobile targets 15 million 5G broadband customers by 2030. It hopes to acquire 3 to 4 million fiber customers during the same period.

AT&T expects to reach 60 million fiber locations by the end of 2030. AT&T currently passes 30 million fiber locations, putting it ahead of rivals.

AT&T has a winning strategy. The report points out that while other segments, including wireless, are also major revenue contributors, fiber has an edge when it comes to future growth. That's because fiber could help AT&T and T-Mobile transform themselves from a utility-like service provider into a high-margin connectivity ecosystem.

While wireless is nearing saturation, fiber offers a new growth avenue as demand for high-speed home internet continues to rise.

With new investments in spectrum and fiber, we’re set to win more customers in more categories and geographies across the U.S

John Stankey, AT&T Chairman and CEO, January 2026

Building on its fiber advantage

T-Mobile is a relatively new player in fiber and is only focused on expanding its fiber footprint through mergers and acquisitions.

AT&T and Verizon have a more organic approach and have been building kingdoms of fiber, offering both wireline and wireless connections in several US locations.

T-Mobile has been focusing on Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), using excess capacity on its 5G networks to deliver broadband to homes and businesses. While FWA is fast enough for most customers, since it depends on 5G infrastructure, there are currently limits to where it can be deployed.

AT&T's laser focus on fiber means that it will be better able to serve demanding users in the future across large swathes of America.

Is home internet a consideration for you when choosing a carrier?

Lagging behind

While T-Mobile's 5G internet is a success story, the company is behind its chief rivals, who have larger broadband customer bases. Providing both cellular and internet services reduces churn, which is why the Big Three want to provide both.

T-Mobile has little immediate cause for alarm, ending 2025 with 142.4 million customers, slightly behind Verizon, which remained at the top with 146.9 million subscribers. AT&T was third with 120.1 million.

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Anam Hamid is a computer scientist turned tech journalist who has a keen interest in the tech world, with a particular focus on smartphones and tablets. She has previously written for Android Headlines and has also been a ghostwriter for several tech and car publications. Anam is not a tech hoarder and believes in using her gadgets for as long as possible. She is concerned about smartphone addiction and its impact on future generations, but she also appreciates the convenience that phones have brought into our lives. Anam is excited about technological advancements like folding screens and under-display sensors, and she often wonders about the future of technology. She values the overall experience of a device more than its individual specs and admires companies that deliver durable, high-quality products. In her free time, Anam enjoys reading, scrolling through Reddit and Instagram, and occasionally refreshing her programming skills through tutorials.

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