AT&T to lose more than Verizon from the merger, as T-Mobile and Sprint users dig 5G
Barring unforeseen obstacles that the coronavirus situation may bring, the technical merger between the T-Mobile and Sprint networks is fast approaching, and the resulting carrier will be well-positioned to make a splash in the tranquility pond of the big two - Verizon and AT&T.
Sprint is the price king among the most affordable unlimited data plans, and offers the most perks to boot, with 5G and Hulu coming standard at even its most basic $20 a line for a family of five unlimited.
Its coverage area may be a deterrent where you are though, while T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T may get way more expensive than Sprint the more lines you add, but they'll offer you signal outside of big cities or major highways, especially Verizon.
The combined T-Mobile/Sprint network, however, is not that far off from the AT&T coverage even now, let alone when the synergies from the two carriers' 5G spectrum holdings start bearing fruit, so which carrier stand to lose the most from the merger?
AT&T may lose more subs than Verizon after the T-Mobile merger with Sprint
The combined subscriber base of T-Mobile and Sprint will end up being more than a 100 million customers, which is still a far cry from AT&T's 141 million customers, or Verizon's 150 million subs.
The researchers from Waveform, however, which provides signal boosting services, just ran a representative survey, and found out that many an AT&T customer may flock to the New T-Mobile entity.
Not only that, but T-Mobile and Sprint customers are significantly more excited about 5G than Verizon or AT&T. Here are the key takeaways from Waveform's survey:
- AT&T stands to lose the most subscribers to a newly-merged Sprint and T-Mobile
- 28.8% of AT&T customers polled are interested in switching to the New T-Mobile. Verizon is in a much safer position: 45.3% said they weren't interested in switching to New T-Mobile.
- Many consumers still aren't sure of the benefits of 5G
- Despite heavy 5G marketing, only 32.8% of consumers said they understand the benefits of 5G very clearly.
- 65.7% of consumers said they weren't very excited about 5G.
- T-Mobile and Sprint customers are the most excited about 5G
- The results show meaningfully higher excitement about 5G amongst Sprint and T-Mobile users - 22% of T-Mobile and 19% of Sprint subscribers reported being "extremely excited" about 5G, compared to just 12% of Verizon and 16% of AT&T subscribers
- US consumers rate their home cell signal as significantly worse than in 2018
- Only 29.3% of respondents reported very good cell signal at home, versus 40.3% when we asked the same question in October 2018.
- Verizon has a significant lead in cell coverage experience
- 38% of Verizon subscribers reported having "very good signal" at home, compared to between 23% and 26% for Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T.
- A considerably lower percentage of Verizon subscribers reported having "very bad signal" or "bad signal" at home.
It has also rolled out 5G exclusively in the fast mmWave bands, unlike AT&T which also has some slower 850MHz rollout. T-Mobile and Sprint are using the low-band 600MHz and mid-band 2.5GHz spectrum, respectively.
Thus, while they can't yet boast the Ultra Wideband 5G speeds of Verizon, and, to a lesser extent, AT&T, the coverage and penetration rate of their combined spectrum is superior.
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