T-Mobile doesn't want you to know how it's doing. | Image by ooh today
AT&T gained 294,000 net new postpaid subscribers in Q1, Verizon added 55,000, and T-Mobile refused to reveal individual numbers. In doing so, the company painted a picture of a struggling market where the Big Three might be the biggest losers.
Extrapolating T-Mobile's performance
T-Mobile Q1 2026 estimates. | Image by Recon Analytics
T-Mobile may not have reported key growth metrics, but analyst Roger Entner deduced them anyway.
This marked new CEO Srini Gopalan's first full quarter at the helm, and operations reflected the European style of management he brought with him from T-Mobile's parent company, Deutsche Telekom. That means greater efficiency, automation, and a relentless focus on earnings.
Despite the convergence spin T-Mobile is trying to sell, its decision to stop reporting key figures for the first time in a decade suggests the numbers aren't exactly brag-worthy.
Per Entner's calculations, T-Mobile added 520,000 new postpaid subscribers in Q1, higher than Q1 2025's tally of 495,000. However, when factoring in the total subscriber base, growth slowed slightly in the first quarter.
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T-Mobile vs rivals fiber performance Q1. | Image by Recon Analytics
Other postpaid additions hovered around 900,000. 5G Fixed Wireless Access net additions totaled 470,000. 50,000 new fiber customers were added, which pales next to AT&T's 292,000 net additions and Verizon's 127,000. One bright spot is that T-Mobile is better at adding subscribers in areas where it offers fiber than its rivals.
Prepaid additions were approximately 50,000. Spectrum and Charter captured 5.6% of switchers, up from 4.2% last year. Cable MVNOs' share of switchers grew by a third, acquiring customers who would normally go to T-Mobile.
Elevated churn
T-Mobile's churn rate ticked up by 10 basis points. The company shrugged that off, claiming the postpaid phone churn rate rose by only 3 basis points. Apparently, new customers and broadband-only subscribers leave faster than the company's average. Since these two groups usually only have one line, they inflated account churn, which is the only metric T-Mobile reports now.
While broadband is T-Mobile's fastest-growing business, new customers leaving so quickly is a red flag. To be fair, it's not a T-Mobile-specific problem, as broadband is known to have higher churn than wireless.
A new T-Mobile
T-Life, Live Translation, and the Better Value plan are some of the performative gestures meant to signal that the Un-carrier ethos is going strong. Srini's leadership style and the latest Q1 data tell a different story.
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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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