T-Mobile executive says every wireless provider needs to have this one goal
Providing wireless connectivity in every situation is something all providers should strive for says T-Mobile executive.
T-Mobile subscribers simply want a mobile connection | Image by DC Building Group
T-Mobile's Jeff Giard is the VP of Business Development and Partnerships for the carrier. On Tuesday, he delivered his keynote address at the 2026 Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) Convention. Giard's main focus was on T-Mobile's joint venture with SpaceX and he started his keynote by showing a video that was made back in August 2022 when the T-Mobile-SpaceX partnership was unveiled.
The CCA has been around since 1992
The CCA does have a diverse membership that runs the gamut from small regional and rural providers to nationwide carriers. However, having started life as the Rural Cellular Association (RCA) in 1992, and founded by nine small wireless firms looking for representation in Washington D.C., it is no surprise that the CCA focuses on matters that are of importance to rural providers and their subscribers.
T-Satellite means there are no "dead areas" for T-Mobile customers
There happens to be a specific feature that T-Mobile offers its subscribers that aligns the carrier with the CCA and that is its T-Satellite service. With T-Satellite, there are no "dead areas" for T-Mobile subscribers as the partnership with SpaceX allows them to stay connected even in areas without cellular service or Wi-Fi. This includes rural areas where wireless infrastructure was not built out due to cost, lack of demand, and other reasons.
T-Mobile's Giard said that every wireless firm should have this goal
T-Mobile's Giard told CCA members in attendance for his keynote that T-Satellite is being used exactly where you'd expect it to be used, which is the rural areas of the country. Giard's keynote contained a message to wireless providers across the country. He says that every wireless firm should have the goal of keeping its customers connected no matter where they are.
T-Mobile subscribers only want to know that they can watch their TikTok videos
The other side to this is that customers shouldn't worry about how they are getting connected just as long as they are connected. "It's always been about making the connection as seamless as possible for the customer," Giard said. He also pointed out that T-Mobile customers really don't care how T-Satellite keeps them connected as long as it does. The bottom line is that as long as T-Mobile can deliver connectivity to its customers allowing them to watch their TikTok videos, they don't care how it all works.
T-Mobile promoting its partnership with SpaceX. | Image by T-Mobile
Google, Apple, and Samsung were more concerned with how T-Satellite would work because they had to make changes to their phones so that T-Mobile subscribers would get a similar experience with satellite as they get with a cellular connection. Giard hopes that things go more smoothly this year as the Big 3 (T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon) get together to start the satellite joint venture they announced earlier this year.
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Giard talked about removing any fragmentation so that all of the phone manufacturers could have the same technical requirements for their devices. If you can get Apple and Samsung on the same page when it comes to the technology needed for their phones, it would allow for seamless handoffs between satellite and terrestrial networks with next-generation constellations, he said.
T-Mobile happens to be the largest wireless provider among those with a CCA membership. Most members have fewer than 1 million customers putting them in Tier 2 or Tier 3. Some of the other smaller member providers are curious to see whether they have a chance to partner with a satellite firm offering direct-to-device (D2D) such as SpaceX/Starlink, AST SpaceMobile, Globalstar, Iridium Communications, Viasat & Skylo Technologies.
T-Mobile has teamed up with SpaceX/Starlink, AST SpaceMobile is working with Verizon and AT&T, and Globalstar runs the infrastructure behind Apple's Emergency SOS via Satellite. CCA members met with AST SpaceMobile and some other satellite firms with big plans hoping to possibly reach a deal with them. These smaller providers don't have the size that a carrier like T-Mobile has that would make the satellite firms seek them out instead of having to be the aggressor in the relationship.
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