T-Mobile to launch home broadband; rural areas a target

T-Mobile is launching its long-promised 5G home broadband service later this month, and aims to target rural areas. "The home internet option will come to 'rural, small town and suburban' areas first, said Dow Draper, T-Mobile [executive vice president] of emerging products," Sascha Segan reports for PC Magazine. "Capacity isn't a problem; 20 percent of the customers on the home internet pilot have been using more than 500GB a month, even on 4G, he said."

"T-Mobile isn’t alone in its attempt to solve the rural internet availability problem and disrupt traditional broadband providers. Verizon launched its own commercial 5G broadband internet service in 2018. Separately, Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service—which also targets rural users—has already signed up more than 10,000 subscribers, a figure poised to increase as the company launches more satellites into orbit," Mack DeGeurin writes for eMarketer's Insider Intelligence. "As 5G networks expand, T-Mobile and other telecoms possess a unique ability to fill connectivity gaps left by traditional broadband providers in rural areas. A 2020 report by research group Broadband Now found that 42 million US residents lack the ability to purchase broadband internet. With that figure in mind, it makes sense why the company’s 5G home internet option would come to 'rural, small-town and suburban' areas first, according to ... Draper. By prioritizing underserved rural areas, T-Mobile can make steady inroads into home broadband while continuing to strengthen its 5G network."