T-Mobile successfully acquired Sprint as of April 1, becoming one company and effectively bringing the total number of major US cell carriers from four down to three. At least for now.
If you’re currently a Sprint or T-Mobile customer, you might wonder how this merger will affect you. We reached out to the “new T-Mobile” to get answers straight from the magenta horse’s mouth. T-Mobile claims the acquisition will foster improved coverage and data speeds for Americans, but it’s important to remember that critics say there’s no clear way to hold the carrier accountable to its promises and that higher prices may be inevitable.
Updated on April 21: We’ve added new details, like how Sprint customers can soon access T-Mobile’s LTE network.
So Am I on Sprint or T-Mobile?
At the moment, both brands still exist. If you’re a Sprint subscriber, you’re still using Sprint’s network and if you’re on T-Mobile, you’re using T-Mobile’s network. Sprint subscribers that are in an area where Sprint doesn’t have LTE coverage will automatically connect to T-Mobile’s LTE network (the vice versa is not true if you’re on T-Mobile) within weeks. Eventually, the Sprint brand will fade away and T-Mobile will be the sole name you’ll see, with one set of data plans to choose from (potentially this summer).
Will I Have to Pay More?
Part of the agreement for T-Mobile’s acquisition is that it wouldn’t raise prices for three years, so you shouldn’t see any price increases until 2023. As for what happens after, we’ll have to wait and see. If you’re worried about billing issues during the transition, T-Mobile says billing will continue as normal though you may see updated branding soon.
Are Sprint Phones Compatible on T-Mobile?
Sprint uses a CDMA network, whereas T-Mobile uses GSM. Historically, that meant Sprint phones don’t play well on other wireless carriers, like AT&T and T-Mobile (with several exceptions). That’s still true for the time being—buying a phone from Sprint doesn’t mean it will be able to work on T-Mobile’s network just because it’s the new owner.
T-Mobile says it’s working on a unified GSM device portfolio in the future so that any new phone will work on the new T-Mobile’s full network. Our Best Android Phones and Best Cheap Phones guides each list the wi