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T-Mobile is launching a pilot for delivering in-home internet service using its wireless LTE network. The news comes on the heels of the company’s announcement earlier this month that it would enter the broadband market.
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The pilot is currently for existing T-Mobile customers and by invitation-only — that amounts to availability for around 0.04% of US households this year. The carrier hopes to expand the service to cover more than half of all US households with 5G by 2024, if it gets approval to merge with Sprint.
The merged company, New T-Mobile, would have a goal of servicing 9.5 million households by 2024.
T-Mobile has drawn back the curtain on its broadband strategy — it will focus on providing service to rural and other underserved areas first.
The company’s pilot will prioritize connecting 50,000 rural and underserved US households by the end of this year. One way it will get after that is by pricing the service below the current average cost of wired in-home broadband: The new broadband service will cost $50 per month, 29% lower than the average $70 per month rural customer currently pay for wired in-home broadband service, according to Strategic Networks Group. By 2024, the lower prices could amount to about $14 billion in yearly savings for US consumers.
We expect T-Mobile’s strategy will enable it to disrupt the US broadband market by tackling two major pain points for rural households: limited options and price. The company’s focus on rural and underserved areas will allow it to stand out from other broadband companies as there is limited competition: Nearly two-thirds (62%) of rural North American households lack a second option for wired broadband service. In areas where T-Mobile can provide an alternative, its planned $50 per month price tag will likely to help it win out: 70% of rural US households are dissatisfied with the current price of their broadband, for example.
More to Learn
Business Insider Intelligence’s 5G in the IoT report examines how the introduction of 5G is poised to transform portions of the IoT ecosystem.
Here are some key takeaways from the report:
- Where available, 5G will enable exciting new IoT use cases, like real-time remote analytics and the remote execution of mission-critical services.
- While 5G will offer a variety of useful new capabilities for companies that provide and use IoT solutions, there will be areas where it won’t be useful within the IoT — at least not immediately.
- Companies offering IoT solutions need to look at 5G as a tool in their arsenal; the thing they need to figure out is when they can build solutions that amplify its strengths, mitigate its weaknesses, and when turn to alternatives if they can’t adequately do either.
In full, the report:
- Provides an overview of the key differences between 5G networks and today’s alternatives.
- Highlights the ways that 5G will enable new practices in the IoT.
- Presents some of the expectations for 5G from companies that will bring the standard to the world.
Interested in getting the full report? >> Purchase & Download It Now
See Also:
- Google is relinquishing browser and search engine control in Europe
- No, you don’t have a 5G phone yet – US consumers are uninformed and misled about 5G, but T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T can change that
- Why Huawei’s Android backup would flop
Source: Business Insider – aaouad@businessinsider.com (Ayoub Aouad)