T-Mobile has built up its 5G network for home internet connections, but it’s not stopping with wireless infrastructure. T-Mobile has now announced its purchase of another internet service provider with existing fiber optic infrastructure.
T-Mobile announced today that it has agreed to acquire Metronet, a fiber internet service provider that already covers “more than 2 million homes and businesses across 17 states,” primarily in the Midwest. Metronet’s existing home internet customers will become T-Mobile customers, and there are plans for Metronet’s infrastructure to reach 6.5 million homes by the end of 2030. T-Mobile is buying Metronet in a joint venture with an investment firm, KKR, and T-Mobile expects to spend around $4.9 billion to close the deal.
T-Mobile said in a press release, “T-Mobile will have full responsibility for residential customer acquisition and support, leveraging its differentiated retail, marketing, brand and service model, and will utilize Metronet’s deep digital and fiber infrastructure expertise to expand to more households with fiber broadband services. Metronet will focus on build plans, network engineering and design, network deployment, and customer installation.”
This news comes after T-Mobile announced plans to purchase Lumos, another regional fiber internet company, back in April. The acquisitions make it clear T-Mobile wants to be a real competitor against traditional internet service providers in the United States, such as Spectrum, Comcast/Xfinity, AT&T, and Verizon. In some areas, T-Mobile will be able to offer fiber internet service, while everyone else gets the existing 5G-based home internet.
It’s unclear how this move might affect existing Metronet customers. T-Mobile definitely won’t rip out any existing fiber internet infrastructure, but price hikes probably aren’t out of the question, especially if T-Mobile plans to use Metronet’s customer base to grow its fiber internet ambitions across the entire United States.
The acquisition still has to be approved by regulators. T-Mobile is hoping it will be a done deal sometime in 2025.
Source: T-Mobile
