T-Mobile has been growing rapidly across the U.S. for years, as many consumers chose the “un-carrier” over rivals AT&T and Verizon. But 2025 was a pretty rocky year all across the wireless industry, especially for Verizon and T-Mobile, and now that is being reflected in the subscriber numbers for the latter.
Fewer new subscribers than estimated
According to a new report (subscription required), T-Mobile’s estimated addition of new subscribers was around 992,000 for the fourth quarter of 2025. However, the company has only managed to net 962,000 new users instead.
Though that might not seem like a major difference from the expected numbers, it is still slightly worrying as all three major companies are locked in a battle for supremacy. T-Mobile still remains the fastest-growing network company despite missing the mark last quarter. The addition of around a million new subscribers during the third quarter of 2025 definitely helped.
Why do you think T-Mobile is the fastest growing carrier?
Evolving public views on T-Mobile
Some customers claim T-Mobile isn’t the same anymore. | Image credit — PhoneArena
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Part of the reason might definitely be due to the fact that T-Mobile has, on more than one occasion last year, made a subset of its customer base very angry. One of the biggest changes in recent memory was when the company announced that it was increasing prices across the board. Removing inclusive taxes and fees from the listed pricing for its plans was another controversial move.
Since then, small modifications to perks and plans have been irking some customers. It stands to reason that some new users, who might have been considering signing up with T-Mobile, went with another option instead.
However, T-Mobile’s numbers speak for themselves. The company, despite its layoffs and hard push for the T-Life app, is poised to become the largest carrier in the U.S. T-Mobile has been aggressively advertising its services on a myriad of platforms, and its home internet service smashed growth expectations for the quarter.
A challenging time for all three
This might make it seem like T-Mobile is losing its grip on the wireless market share across the U.S., but I highly doubt that is the case. Aside from the fact that it still remains the fastest-growing network in the country, the latter half of 2025 was a tumultuous time for all three major companies.
T-Mobile and Verizon have changed the most recently, with both companies laying off employees. It’s all but confirmed now that T-Mobile plans to severely reduce its reliance on physical stores and human representatives. Instead, the T-Life app will replace most of your interactions with T-Mobile, a fact that has likely driven some users away.
This indsutrywide disturbance should level out soon enough, in my opinion, and I think that it’s only a matter of time before T-Mobile becomes the largest carrier in the U.S.
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Abdullah loves smartphones, Virtual Reality, and audio gear. Though he covers a wide range of news his favorite is always when he gets to talk about the newest VR venture or when Apple sets the industry ablaze with another phenomenal release.
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