2021 sucked for the rest of us, but T-Mobile had its best year ever
What you need to know
- T-Mobile claims 2021 was its best year ever, doubling new postpaid customers year-over-year on a strong 5G rollout and the lowest churn in the industry.
- T-Mobile was the fastest-growing high-speed Internet provider in Q4, and the company now turns its attention to rural markets for 5G, intending to cover 5x the land it does now by the end of 2022.
- The company also met its RE100 promise, moving to 100% renewable energy powering its business.
T-Mobile's CEO trumpeted the company's best year ever during an earnings call that highlighted T-Mobiles growing interest in suburban and rural mobile markets after providing 5G coverage that covers 212 million Americans in 2021. T-Mobile looks to quintuple the land its 5G network covers this year while integrating the spectrum they won in Auction 110 back in November and finishing out its accelerated Sprint merger.
"T-Mobile had our strongest year ever. We didn't just meet the bold goals we set for 2021 around customer growth, profitability, merger synergies, and network buildout – we crushed all of them," said Mike Sievert, T-Mobile CEO.
"Our industry-leading year-end results – adding 1.2 million postpaid accounts and 5.5 million postpaid customers, extending Ultra Capacity 5G to 210 million people – show that the Un-carrier is experiencing the greatest growth momentum in wireless. And we're poised to sustain that position into 2022 and beyond as we continue to execute on our winning playbook and consistently make investments that have enabled our success. With plenty of room to run, we're in the best-ever position to continue delivering."
No doubt T-Mobile's growth could be attributed to its strong 5G position and attractive offers on some of the best budget Android phones. Recently, the carrier also extended the Affordable Connectivity Program to its Metro by T-Mobile prepaid brand, which will likely draw in even more customers in the current quarter.
T-Mobile added 224,000 new high-speed Internet users in Q4 — almost half of the 546,000 added in 2021 — and is aiming to have 7 million by 2025. Another goal that T-Mobile was able to meet in 2021 was its sustainability pledge, going RE100 and swapping to 100% renewable power.
T-Mobile is one of very few tech stocks to beat expectations this year, and it's looking to re-adjust its expectations to accommodate its higher-than-expected growth as it looks to add 5 million new subscribers in 2022. The stock is up as much as 10% in after-hours trading, while Meta and Spotify drop after AR/VR losses and customer-retainment concerns.
Half off at T-Mobile
You can get $300 off the best Android phone on the market right now at T-Mobile, or if you're willing to trade in a phone, Magenta customers can get it for free. The Google Pixel 6 may have had a bumpy launch, but the software kinks have been worked out, and mine runs smooth as ice, with Tensor's AI flow giving us the fastest voice typing ever. Pixels also have the best Call Screening in all of mobile.
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Ara Wagoner was a staff writer at Android Central. She themes phones and pokes YouTube Music with a stick. When she's not writing about cases, Chromebooks, or customization, she's wandering around Walt Disney World. If you see her without headphones, RUN. You can follow her on Twitter at @arawagco.