T-Mobile announced today that it has surpassed AT&T as the second largest wireless provider in the U.S. The claim was made as part of the company"s financial report for the second quarter of 2020.
The company attributed that feat in large part to its merger with Sprint, which closed on April 1 after two years of slog to get regulatory approvals. In addition, T-Mobile cited a strong customer growth as one of the factors driving its latest milestone. It added 1.245 million subscribers in Q2 2020, bringing its total customers to 98.3 million.
Mike Sievert, T-Mobile CEO, said:
“Surpassing AT&T to become #2 was a huge milestone to kick off Q2, but that was only the beginning! In our first quarter as a combined company, T-Mobile led the industry in total branded customer adds – even in a challenging environment – and there is no doubt that we are THE leading growth company in wireless."
T-Mobile also reported $17.7 billion in total revenue and earnings per share of $0.09 for the previous quarter, with a net income of $110 million. After completing its merger with Sprint, the Un-carrier has since transitioned the former"s stores and systems to its branding. In June, T-Mobile also laid off hundreds of Sprint employees followed by the shutdown of its 5G network in July.
Along with its financial report today, the wireless carrier also touted some of the progress it made so far for its 5G efforts. T-Mobile noted that its 5G network now covers more than 250 million people across 1.3 million square miles, and claims that this is more than twice as large as AT&T’s geographic coverage and "exponentially more than Verizon."