Technologies

T-Mobile’s 3 Years With Sprint: What’s Changed Since the Merger

T-Mobile has expanded its 5G network and kept plan and phone prices down, but other premerger pledges are still unfulfilled.

Three years ago, T-Mobile’s merger with Sprint was finalized, and the nation’s list of top carriers shrank from four to three. At the time, T-Mobile made promises that the merger would be positive for consumers and the larger mobile industry — and though that’s been more true than not, there are still some pledges that haven’t been seen through.

But it also hasn’t led to a worse situation for consumers, at least not yet. Though having three major carriers to choose from instead of four is worrisome for the future (with Dish so far failing to pose a real challenge), competition has kept plan prices relatively stable and even led to big savings on top-tier phones. Carriers have continued to build out their respective 5G networks, leading to new 5G home internet options for people who aren’t connected to broadband (or are looking for an alternative to their traditional cable options). It isn’t the rosiest future, but it isn’t as bad as some critics had feared.

In an April 10 blog post, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert trumpeted how far the carrier has come in three years, citing everything from better 5G service to the greater availability of home internet to lower prices for all, even people signing up with other carriers.

Indeed, folding in Sprint’s midband 5G towers has given T-Mobile a lead on 5G, letting it achieve nationwide coverage of more than 200 million Americans with faster 5G in 2021, years ahead of both Verizon and AT&T. T-Mobile has also improved 5G access for rural customers, Sievert said.

T-Mobile piggybacked off its larger 5G network to launch and grow its 5G home internet service. For a $50 monthly subscription fee (if they set up automatic payments), the service offers customers higher-speed connectivity compared with dial-up, costly satellite, or underdeveloped DSL or cable alternatives. Though the speeds aren’t as fast or reliable as those of a good cable or fiber connection, T-Mobile’s 5G service can reach consumers who aren’t hooked up to the highest-speed internet networks.

And as Sievert notes, competition between carriers has kept prices on par — for instance, Verizon’s comparable 5G Home service also starts at $50 per month.

Keeping phone plans low

As far as phone plan prices go, the carrier landscape after T-Mobile and Sprint’s merger has preserved competition in consumers’ favor, at least for the time being. Indeed, carrier discounts and deals have even led to a boom in premium phones, which climbed to up to 18% of the phone market early this year, according to IDC analyst Nabila Popal (up from 10% before the pandemic). Carriers have been desperate to get consumers signed to three-year contracts, so they’ve subsidized most or all of the price for phones like the iPhone 14 or Samsung Galaxy S23 series.

T-Mobile remains one the last of the big three providers to still offer two-year options on most of its devices, a more consumer-friendly deal. (A notable exception are pricey foldables like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold line, which requires a three-year commitment to get an upgrade discount.) That said, the carrier has tied some of its best perks and promotions — like free Apple TV Plus and its best device trade-in deals — to a requirement to be on its priciest Magenta Max plans.

On the low end of the price spectrum, T-Mobile did fulfill a premerger promise to offer a $15 per month plan with unlimited talk and text as well as 2.5GB of data, which the carrier has since increased to 3.5GB in compliance with its proposal to increase this cheap plan’s data allowance by 500MB per year. It also has said it’ll keep Mint Mobile’s $15 per month plan should its planned $1.35 billion purchase of the Ryan Reynolds’ owned prepaid carrier go through.

Another major element in T-Mobile and Sprint’s merger proposal was offering low-cost or free data plans; discounted laptops and tablets; and mobile hotspot access to 10 million low-income households. What the carrier branded as Project 10 Million has so far followed through on providing $4.8 billion in services and supplying 5.3 million students with devices through the end of 2022, a T-Mobile spokesperson told CNET.

The carrier hadn’t proposed a deadline for hitting the 10 million marker, but it said the program, which launched in 2020, would last five years, meaning it will expire in 2025. T-Mobile hasn’t said what’ll happen after its commitment period ends.

Merger misses: jobs fall short of promises

T-Mobile doesn’t seem to have fulfilled other pledges made for the merger. The biggest involves jobs, with then-CEO John Legere saying the new combined company would create new jobs and hire 11,000 more workers by 2024. The new T-Mobile started with around 80,000 employees in 2020, according to regulatory filings, but after losing around 5,000 employees in 2021 due to layoffs, along with more jobs shed among network and engineering as well as retail employees, the carrier so far seems to have fallen short of its promise.

When reached for comment, T-Mobile pushed back on the idea that the carrier employs fewer people now than it did before the merger. But it didn’t share exact personnel numbers, saying only that thousands of jobs have been created. T-Mobile also didn’t address whether it’ll make the 11,000-person hiring goal set by Legere.

«Before we merged with Sprint, we said we’d have more employees as a combined company than the two standalone companies would have had on their own without the merger — and we have done just that,» said a T-Mobile spokesperson. In the years since the merger, the spokesperson said, the carrier has also «created thousands of jobs for vendors and partners.»

Granted, the jobs-related proposal was made by a different CEO and before a pandemic led to layoffs and challenging economic conditions across many industries. But the current situation is still gloomier than T-Mobile had originally proposed.

The merger also shifted the balance of power among carriers. In their premerger assurances, T-Mobile and Sprint said they’d divest some of their assets to Dish, turning the satellite TV provider into the nation’s de facto fourth-largest carrier and saving the merger. Dish acquired Sprint’s prepaid mobile brand Boost and has the option to pay $3.59 billion for 800MHz wireless spectrum to form its own 5G network, though it may end up passing on the offer to save money after finishing testing the spectrum. In the meantime, Dish has secured agreements with AT&T and T-Mobile to use their 5G networks while it builds its own.

Though Dish finally opened sign-ups for its 5G service back in August, and launched its own $25 prepaid service in December, progress has been slow to get the carrier in line with the far more established T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T. For now, Dish isn’t a serious threat to its bigger siblings.

What comes after the merger timeline expires?

The US Department of Justice required a lot of assurances, like those listed above, to approve the T-Mobile and Sprint merger, but they all have expiration dates. This has implications for who’s helped by the new T-Mobile’s plans — like students aided by Project 10 Million, which lasts through 2025, as well as regular consumers through plan pricing.

As part of the merger, T-Mobile agreed to lock in pricing on its plans for three years, though it’s unclear what will happen after. Last year, the carrier introduced the similarly named Price Lock as a broad feature for most of its prepaid and postpaid mobile as well as broadband internet plans, but only new customers qualify.

There are still a few other merger pledges stretching into the years to come. By the end of 2023, T-Mobile must provide 5G service to 97% of the population, and within six years 99%. The carrier must cover 85% of the rural American population by the end of this year, and 90% within six years. But beyond that, it’s unclear what T-Mobile has in store for consumers.

Technologies

Tesla to Release First-Quarter Earnings Following Market Close

Tesla’s stock has underperformed all of its megacap peers so far this year as global competition ramps up in the electric vehicle market.

Tesla is scheduled to release its first-quarter financial results after market hours on Wednesday.
Here are the key expectations from Wall Street, based on LSEG estimates:
— Projected earnings per share: 37 cents
— Anticipated revenue: $22.64 billion
Tesla’s stock has underperformed compared to other megacap stocks on Wall Street this year, dropping 14% as of Tuesday’s close, largely due to sluggish sales in its core automotive division. In contrast, the S&P 500 has risen by over 3%.
Analysts forecast a 17% revenue increase from $19.3 billion in the same period last year, marking the company’s strongest growth period since mid-2023.
The past year has been challenging due to competition from Chinese automakers like Xiaomi and BYD, which provide advanced yet more affordable models against Tesla’s aging electric vehicle lineup. Additionally, Tesla faces consumer backlash related to CEO Elon Musk’s involvement with the Trump administration, his provocative political statements, and support for far-right politicians.
Earlier this month, Tesla announced 358,023 vehicle deliveries for the first quarter, a decrease from the previous quarter but a 6% increase year-over-year. The company has experienced annual declines in deliveries for the past two years.
Musk has attempted to shift focus toward the company’s advancements in autonomous driving technology and humanoid robots. While Tesla is testing a limited number of driverless cars for its ride-hailing service in Texas, the company still depends heavily on EV sales for revenue and has not yet launched a vehicle ready for robotaxi operations.
Tesla offers an FSD (Supervised) system for $99 monthly, which requires a human supervisor to remain attentive and ready to take control at any moment. Recently, Tesla received approval to sell a version of FSD (Supervised) in the Netherlands and is pursuing wider European regulatory clearance.
In its delivery report, Tesla noted the deployment of 8.8 gigawatt hours of battery energy storage systems during the first quarter of 2026, falling short of Wall Street expectations after a record 14.2 gigawatt hours in Q4 2025.
Musk’s focus has been divided this quarter as he merged his aerospace and defense company SpaceX with his AI venture xAI in a $1.25 trillion deal. He is now preparing the combined entity for what is anticipated to be a historic IPO.
In Tesla’s January earnings report, the company disclosed investing approximately $2 billion in xAI, with holdings converted to SpaceX shares. Tesla and SpaceX are collaborating on numerous joint initiatives, including a Terafab chip manufacturing facility in Texas and deeper integration of xAI’s Grok models and AI chatbot into Tesla vehicles and robotics.
Investors who submitted questions online ahead of Wednesday’s earnings call inquired about Tesla and SpaceX’s ongoing collaboration and potential future merger.
Shareholders are also demanding concrete data on Tesla’s long-promised autonomous technology, timelines for unveiling the latest Optimus humanoid robots, and updates on its ride-hailing business, where it lags behind Alphabet’s Waymo in the U.S. and Baidu’s Apollo Go in China.
Tesla’s current Robotaxi service primarily relies on human drivers in California or human safety supervisors inside the vehicle. The company recently announced expansions to Dallas and Houston.
WATCH: Tesla can only trade on hopes about the future for so long, says Cramer

Technologies

LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, appoints veteran executive Dan Shapero as its new Chief Executive Officer

Microsoft’s LinkedIn has appointed veteran executive Dan Shapero as its new Chief Executive Officer, marking a significant leadership transition for the professional networking platform.

WHAT ARE COOKIES?

Similar to many organizations, we employ cookies, which are small text files stored on your computer or device when you access our Services. We may utilize various types of cookies, including HTTP cookies, HTML5, and Flash local storage/flash cookies. Alongside cookies, we might use other tracking technologies in a similar manner, such as web beacons/GIFs, pixels, embedded scripts, ETags/cache browsers, and software development kits (collectively referred to as “Cookies”).

Cookies can automatically collect and store information, such as your IP address, a unique identifier, and/or other data regarding you and your device. Cookies may also be used to share your information, including: to Versant; to another party acting on our behalf; and/or to a third party (e.g., an advertising or marketing partner) in line with their privacy policy. Cookies also allow us and third parties to recognize you or consolidate information about you from and across various sources.

HOW ARE COOKIES USED?

As detailed further below, Versant, our partners, and other third parties use Cookies for various purposes on our Services:

Strictly Necessary: These Cookies are essential for Service functionality, including system administration, delivering requested content and features, security and fraud prevention, identifying and resolving technical issues, authenticating your identity, and enabling purchasing capabilities. You can configure your browser to block these Cookies, but some parts of the Services may not function correctly.

Information Storage and Access: These Cookies facilitate the storage and access of information on and across your devices, such as device identifiers and your preferences (e.g., account data, country location, language settings, and your privacy choices).

Measurement and Analytics: These Cookies enable us, our vendors, and third parties to gather data for statistical analysis, such as regarding your usage and performance of the Services (e.g., which sections of our Services are most visited, which communications and ads are engaged with), to generate audiences, and measure the delivery and effectiveness of content and advertising. We and our third-party vendors use these Cookies to understand and improve our Services (e.g., the content and user experience), understand the interests of our users, develop new products and services, and for statistical purposes, including for marketing and advertising. They are also used to recognize you and provide further insights across platforms and devices for the above purposes.

Personalization: These Cookies allow us to offer certain features and a personalized experience, such as determining if you are a first-time visitor, capping message frequency, remembering choices you have made (e.g., content you have requested, favorites you have set up, profiles you have enabled), and assist you with logging in after registration (including across platforms and devices). These Cookies also allow your device to receive and send information, so you can see and interact with ads and content.

Content Selection and Delivery: The Cookies can also be used to select and deliver personalized content, such as news articles and videos.

Ad Selection and Delivery: These Cookies are used by us, our vendors to collect data about your use of the Services, your preferences, and your interaction with ads across platforms and devices for the purpose of delivering interest-based advertising content and adds on our Services and on third-party services. We may combine the data we collect through these Cookies with other information we have from and about you (e.g., your account data) for these purposes.

Third parties (e.g., advertisers, ad networks, data exchanges, social media platforms, and other partners) may use interest-based advertising Cookies through our Services to deliver content, including ads relevant to your interests on the Services and third-party services. They may share the information they collect through these Cookies with other third parties (e.g., advertisers) according to their privacy policy.

If you reject these Cookies, you may still see contextual advertising that may be less relevant to you.

Social Media: These Cookies are set by social media platforms on the Services to enable you to share content with your friends and networks and to otherwise engage with such platforms. Social media platforms have the ability to track your online activity outside of the Services. This may impact the content and messages you see on other services.

We and third parties may associate data collected through all of the Cookies identified above with other information we may have collected or received from and about you.

HOW DO I MANAGE COOKIES?

Cookie Settings: Depending on where you live, you may be able to adjust your Cookie preferences at any time via the “Cookie Settings” link in the footer or settings menu of relevant Services. You must adjust your settings on each browser or device that you use. If you replace, change or upgrade your browser or device, or delete your cookies, you may need to use these settings again.

Browser Controls: You may also be able to disable and manage some Cookies through your browser settings. If you use multiple browsers on the same device, you will need to manage your settings for each browser. Please click on any of the below browser links for instructions:

If the browser you use is not listed above, please refer to your browser’s help menu for information on how to manage cookies. Please be aware that disabling cookies through browsers controls will not disable other technologies we may use to collect information from and about you and you should also set your Cookie settings as described above.

Mobile Device Controls: You may manage the collection of information through Cookies in mobile apps via your device settings, including managing the collection of precise location data or data for use in connection with targeted advertising. Please click on any of the following for more information:

If the device you use is not listed above, please refer to your device’s help menu for information on data settings that may be available to you.

Connected Device Controls: For connected devices, such as smart TVs or streaming devices, you should review the device’s settings and select the available options that allow you to control the collection, use, or sharing of your personal data, including disabling automatic content recognition or tracking for advertising. Typically, to opt out, such devices require you to select options like “limit ad tracking” or to disable options such as “interest-based advertising,” “interactive TV,” or “smart interactivity”. These settings vary by device type.

Certain Partner-Specific Controls: Some vendors and partners we work with (including in connection with advertising, marketing, and analytics) provide individual information on their data practices and provide individual mechanisms that allow you to control your data, including:

The above are examples of our vendors and partners and this is not an exhaustive list. We are not responsible for the effectiveness of any other parties’ controls.

Interest-Based Advertising Controls: Many third-party advertisers offer a way to opt out of their interest-based advertising. For more information or to opt out of receiving interest-based advertising from certain third-party advertisers, depending on your country of residence, please visit:

For certain Services, Versant participates in the IAB Europe Transparency & Consent Framework and complies with its Specifications and Policies.

Consequences of Deactivation of Cookies: If you disable or remove Cookies, some parts of the Services may not function properly. Information may still be collected and used for other purposes, such as research, online services analytics or internal operations, and to remember your opt-out preferences.

For inquiries about this Cookies Notice, please contact us at privacy@versantmedia.com or Chief Privacy Officer, Versant Legal Department, 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632, USA, Versant Legal Department Attn: Chief Privacy Officer.

CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE

This Notice may be revised occasionally and in accordance with legal requirements. Please revisit this Cookie Notice regularly to stay informed about our and our analytic and advertising partners’ use of Cookies.

Technologies

Retail Investors Can Now Access OpenAI Through Robinhood’s Venture Fund

Retail investors can now access OpenAI through Robinhood’s venture fund, allowing them to invest in the company’s long-term growth.

<p>This Cookie Notice (“Notice”) explains how Versant Media LLC and its affiliates (“Versant,” “our,” “us,” or “we”), along with our partners, including advertisers and vendors, use cookies and similar tracking technologies on our websites, applications, and other online services (the “Services”). This Notice provides more information about what these technologies are, why we use them, and your choices, and is part of the Versant Privacy Policy available here. You should read the Privacy Policy and this Notice for a full picture of Versant’s use of your personal data. Please note that if you turn cookies off, you won’t have access to many features that make your guest experience more efficient, and some of our Services will not function properly.
WHAT ARE COOKIES?
Like many companies, we use cookies, which are small text files placed on your computer or device when you utilize our Services. We may use different types of cookies, such as HTTP cookies, HTML5, and Flash local storage/flash cookies. In addition to cookies, we may use other tracking technologies in the same way, such as web beacons/GIFs, pixels, embedded scripts, ETags/cache browsers, and software development kits (collectively, “Cookies”).
Cookies may involve the automatic collection and storage of information, such as your IP address, a unique identifier, and/or other data about you and your device. Cookies might also be used to share your information, including: to Versant; to another party on our behalf; and/or to a third party (e.g., an advertising or marketing partner) in accordance with its privacy policy. Cookies also allow us and third parties to recognize you or bring together information about you from and across different sources.
HOW ARE COOKIES USED?
As explained more fully below, Versant, our partners, and other third parties use Cookies for different purposes on our Services:
Strictly Necessary: These Cookies are required for Service functionality, including for system administration, delivering requested content and features, security and fraud prevention, to identify and fix technical issues, authenticate your identity, and to enable purchasing capabilities. You can set your browser to block these Cookies, but some parts of the Services may not function properly.
Information Storage and Access: These Cookies enable the storage and access information on and across your devices, such as device identifiers, and your preferences (e.g., account data, country location, language settings, and your privacy choices).
Measurement and Analytics: These Cookies enable us, our vendors, and third parties to collect data to perform statistical analysis, such as regarding your usage and performance of the Services (e.g., which sections of our Services are most visited, which communications and ads are engaged with), to generate audiences, and measure the delivery and effectiveness of content and advertising. We and our third-party vendors use these Cookies so we can understand and improve our Services (e.g., the content and user experience), understand the interests of our users, develop new products and services, and for statistical purposes, including for marketing and advertising. They are also used to recognize you and provide further insights across platforms and devices for the above purposes.
Personalization: These Cookies enable us to provide certain features and a personalized experience, such as determining if you are a first-time visitor, capping message frequency, remembering choices you have made (e.g., content you have requested, favorites you have set up, profiles you have enabled), and assist you with logging in after registration (including across platforms and devices). These Cookies also allow your device to receive and send information, so you can see and interact with ads and content.
Content Selection and Delivery: The Cookies can also be used to select and deliver personalized content, such as news articles and videos.
Ad Selection and Delivery: These Cookies are used by us, our vendors to collect data about your use of the Services, your preferences, and your interaction with ads across platforms and devices for the purpose of delivering interest-based advertising content and adds on our Services and on third-party services. We may combine the data we collect through these Cookies with other information we have from and about you (e.g., your account data) for these purposes.
Third parties (e.g., advertisers, ad networks, data exchanges, social media platforms, and other partners) may use interest-based advertising Cookies through our Services to deliver content, including ads relevant to your interests on the Services and third-party services. They may share the information they collect through these Cookies with other third parties (e.g., advertisers) according to their privacy policy.
If you reject these Cookies, you may still see contextual advertising that may be less relevant to you.
Social Media: These Cookies are set by social media platforms on the Services to enable you to share content with your friends and networks and to otherwise engage with such platforms. Social media platforms have the ability to track your online activity outside of the Services. This may impact the content and messages you see on other services.
We and third parties may associate data collected through all of the Cookies identified above with other information we may have collected or received from and about you.
HOW DO I MANAGE COOKIES?
Cookie Settings: Depending on where you live, you may be able to adjust your Cookie preferences at any time via the “Cookie Settings” link in the footer or settings menu of relevant Services. You must adjust your settings on each browser or device that you use. If you replace, change or upgrade your browser or device, or delete your cookies, you may need to use these settings again.
Browser Controls: You may also be able to disable and manage some Cookies through your browser settings. If you use multiple browsers on the same device, you will need to manage your settings for each browser. Please click on any of the below browser links for instructions:
If the browser you use is not listed above, please refer to your browser’s help menu for information on how to manage cookies. Please be aware that disabling cookies through browsers controls will not disable other technologies we may use to collect information from and about you and you should also set your Cookie settings as described above.
Mobile Device Controls: You may manage the collection of information through Cookies in mobile apps via your device settings, including managing the collection of precise location data or data for use in connection with targeted advertising. Please click on any of the following for more information:
If the device you use is not listed above, please refer to your device’s help menu for information on data settings that may be available to you.
Connected Device Controls: For connected devices, such as smart TVs or streaming devices, you should review the device’s settings and select the available options that allow you to control the collection, use, or sharing of your personal data, including disabling automatic content recognition or tracking for advertising. Typically, to opt out, such devices require you to select options like “limit ad tracking” or to disable options such as “interest-based advertising,” “interactive TV,” or “smart interactivity”. These settings vary by device type.
Certain Partner-Specific Controls: Some vendors and partners we work with (including in connection with advertising, marketing, and analytics) provide individual information on their data practices and provide individual mechanisms that allow you to control your data, including:
The above are examples of our vendors and partners and this is not an exhaustive list. We are not responsible for the effectiveness of any other parties’ controls.
Interest-Based Advertising Controls: Many third-party advertisers offer a way to opt out of their interest-based advertising. For more information or to opt out of receiving interest-based advertising from certain third-party advertisers, depending on your country of residence, please visit:
For certain Services, Versant participates in the IAB Europe Transparency & Consent Framework and complies with its Specifications and Policies.
Consequences of Deactivation of Cookies: If you disable or remove Cookies, some parts of the Services may not function properly. Information may still be collected and used for other purposes, such as research, online services analytics or internal operations, and to remember your opt-out preferences.
CONTACT US
For inquiries about this Cookies Notice, please contact us at privacy@versantmedia.com or Chief Privacy Officer, Versant Legal Department, 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632, USA, Versant Legal Department Attn: Chief Privacy Officer.
CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE
This Notice may be revised occasionally and in accordance with legal requirements. Please revisit this Cookie Notice regularly to stay informed about our and our analytic and advertising partners’ use of Cookies.</p>