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At the end of 2012, T-Mobile US was confronting serious hurdles. With a market capitalization of less than $6 billion, it was far behind industry giants like AT&T and Verizon. However, a bold transformation began in 2013 when the company rebranded itself as the “un-carrier,” aiming to stand out from its competitors by offering transparent pricing, flexible contracts, and various customer-centric benefits. This strategic move, coupled with the crucial merger with Sprint in 2020—which provided access to valuable mid-band spectrum for 5G—ushered T-Mobile into a new chapter. Today, the company enjoys a market cap exceeding $200 billion and serves over 100 million customers, establishing itself as one of the largest and most valuable mobile networks in the world.
Despite this remarkable growth, T-Mobile is dedicated to preserving the original spirit and ambition that fueled its rapid rise, according to CEO and President Mike Sievert. Sievert, who took over the leadership role in 2020 after being COO since 2015, emphasizes, “We have more opportunities in front of us than ever before, as we’ve evolved from a telecommunications provider to a technology leader, providing us with a new platform to better serve our customers.”
Through partnerships with leading AI companies like OpenAI and Nvidia, T-Mobile, recognized by TIME as one of the 100 Most Influential Companies in 2024, is set to redefine the future of connectivity in the coming decade. In a discussion with TIME in November, Sievert shared his perspective on the company’s vision.
This interview has been abridged and edited for clarity.
During your conversation with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang earlier this year, you explored the idea of co-creating the future. What future do you foresee?
With T-Mobile’s significant position in the industry, we have a unique opportunity to shape the future of connectivity.
Connectivity has never been more crucial in our everyday lives. Just last week, a severe storm swept through Seattle, knocking out power in our home, yet our connectivity remained unaffected. Even though the nearest T-Mobile tower was offline, the company’s self-healing network managed to reroute signals from a more distant tower.
It dawned on me that if I had to make a choice between power and connectivity, I would choose connectivity. Being able to check on my kids and my mother, even during a blackout, underscored the vital service we provide. This realization fuels our drive to collaborate with the brightest minds in technology to envision what connectivity could look like a decade from now.
Unsurprisingly, AI will play a crucial role in this future: networks will be designed for real-time optimization, ensuring users have the best connectivity experience possible.
With Jensen, we are spearheading a future we refer to as AI-RAN (Artificial Intelligence Radio Access Networks). Presently, we have computing capabilities at our extensive network nodes across the country, and we plan to virtualize this into 60 data centers situated near the edge of our network—allowing us to maximize the efficiencies of a centralized, virtualized data center.
Network demands vary throughout the day. By leveraging excess computing resources during off-peak periods to manage AI workloads, we can greatly enhance the overall user experience.
What does it mean to virtualize the network into data centers, and how does this improve user experience?
In our core operations, AI-RAN will facilitate self-correcting networks in real time, which is essential as data traffic continues to grow. AI technology will amplify network demands, making it imperative for us to stay ahead of this escalating need.
For instance, picture a future scenario where you’re uploading high-definition video to an AI cloud, but a large vehicle is obstructing the signal to the tower. As you move, the network will automatically adjust to ensure your upload continues uninterrupted.
We envision AI workloads becoming increasingly important in the edge cloud. Currently, we have two distinct types of workloads: large cloud workloads that demand substantial computing resources and localized AI processing on devices. These two approaches are fundamentally different.
We anticipate a “Goldilocks demand,” where emerging large language models (LLMs) will focus more on processing video, images, and audio. Analyzing real-time data requires a blend of cloud-like computational power and proximity to the end user, which creates an ideal scenario for edge clouds.
While we currently lack a concrete business model for this initiative, I presented an exciting multi-year plan at our capital markets day that does not incorporate this aspect. Nevertheless, we view it as a promising opportunity, especially now that T-Mobile has a robust infrastructure and technological capabilities that were not available just a few years ago.
We believe that as AI applications become increasingly immersive, they will greatly benefit from the Goldilocks architecture I described. Whether this assumption holds true remains to be seen, but the encouraging news for our financial prospects is that it doesn’t matter—we’re committed to building it, as it will enhance our core business.
T-Mobile has recently transitioned from being a “challenger” to a “champion.” What does this transformation entail?
As I lead a team that has achieved extraordinary success over the past decade, one of my primary challenges is to sustain everyone’s drive, humility, and determination to pursue future growth. Our approach has matured.
Once a small competitor against larger rivals, T-Mobile fostered a culture of striving against giants to benefit our customers. We launched the “un-carrier” movement because we truly differentiated ourselves from those large corporations. We often reminded ourselves that one day we would reach or surpass their size, but we must remain distinct from them—companies that neglect their customers, take them for granted, and lack innovation. The challenge now is to maintain that ethos during a period of success.
This embodies our transition from “challenger to champion.” Rather than merely addressing the failings of others, can we create new industry standards that no one else has envisioned? For instance, can we lead the way in providing direct-to-cell service through a partnership with SpaceX, removing dead zones and enabling mobile phones to connect directly to tailored low Earth orbit satellites? We announced this initiative two years ago and are approaching its launch. Another example is “T-Priority”—utilizing advanced 5G technology to establish a dedicated 5G network for first responders across the nation. Our focus during this challenger-to-champion phase is on pioneering innovations that others cannot replicate.
In a recent earnings call, you referred to T-Mobile’s “secret sauce.” How would you define it?
One standout characteristic of our success over the past decade is our ability to fulfill our promises—something no other company in our industry can genuinely claim. If you were to compare our Capital Markets Day in 2021 with those of our competitors during the same period, you would see that we are the only company still actively pursuing the initiatives we laid out. This reliability resonates with investors, the public, and our customers, showcasing our commitment to execution.
Moreover, we need to anticipate future trends. Perhaps we were fortunate, or perhaps we were insightful, but a big part of our success has been our recognition of the potential of 5G technology. While most of the industry believed that 5G would focus on new devices rather than smartphones and would rely on millimeter wave spectrum, we took a different perspective.
We understood that customers wanted their smartphones to work seamlessly everywhere, delivering speeds at least ten times better than before. The technology to achieve this lay in mid-band spectrum within a layered 5G network. Consequently, we acquired Sprint, which had a wealth of mid-band spectrum but struggled with its business model. This merger is arguably one of the most successful in telecommunications history, laying the groundwork for our current company.
We accurately predicted the trajectory of 5G technology, and while competitors scramble to catch up, they find themselves years behind. It’s essential to keep looking forward, and we are determined to get the next era right.
Are there any aspects of AI’s future that cause you concern?
My main concern is the speed of our adaptation. Technologies are evolving rapidly, reshaping our interactions with computing and with each other. Companies that can foresee these changes, invest wisely, and seize opportunities will emerge as the frontrunners. A common question surrounding AI is whether it’s just a fleeting trend or if it will genuinely add value. I firmly believe this is not an AI bubble; it’s our duty as companies like T-Mobile to harness these advancements and showcase their transformative potential.
If companies like ours fail to demonstrate significant breakthroughs powered by this technology, the perceived benefits will be postponed. This is one reason why firms like OpenAI and Nvidia are eager to partner with us—they recognize our proactive approach and share our commitment to providing tangible value for end users while generating financial benefits for all parties involved.
We are already witnessing the potential of AI. After two years of dedicated work, I announced a goal in September to reduce direct problem-solving and customer service interactions by 75% within three years.
We are on course to achieve this. We have a comprehensive quarterly plan in place, and we’re already seeing the value materialize. This is just one of several metrics I shared. We’re proving to ourselves that our goals are achievable, as we’ve laid the foundation. Our T-Life app is operational, and by 2025, we aim to tackle the most challenging aspects of this initiative. Once we begin to deliver significant elements, I believe we’ll be on the brink of realizing the full scale of this opportunity within the next year, and we can already feel that potential.
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