

And in fact, America really has three main cell phone companies - Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile - and then you have a bunch of smaller companies that piggyback off of the physical network that these other companies have.

RASCOE: So Mint was already using T-Mobile's network. For example, they could make the service to be a 3G service while, at the moment, Mint Mobile service comes as 5G, meaning the latest technology. What I want to say about that - even, let's say, if T-Mobile were to retain the $15 per month, there is many other details - there's many other restrictions that they can impose even though the monthly price is the same. RASCOE: That - no one ever reads that stuff, so (laughter).ĭROSSOS: We do. RASCOE: So that's not actually necessarily a benefit for the consumers.ĭROSSOS: And to add to that, there is the many footprints, small print, and caveats and footnotes that usually, offers comes with. If two network operators that are merging are promising to keep prices flat, well, that's not good enough, you know, because prices are falling anyway. It's been about three years now, so what do we know?ĭROSSOS: It is important to note that these promises - actually, they are not significant, and in practice they don't really make a difference into the market because what is important to remember is that mobile prices, both the monthly prices and, as well, the unit prices, meaning gigabytes, have been coming down. RASCOE: Back in 2020 when T-Mobile bought Sprint, there was a promise to keep Sprint's prices in place for three years. RASCOE: T-Mobile says they'll continue to offer Mint's cheapest plan, which costs $15 a month, but does that indicate to you that this merger may be a good thing for consumers - that they'll still have this ability to get these really, really affordable plans for those who need them?ĭROSSOS: My personal assessment is that probably T-Mobile is looking to rationalize the, you know, pricing in the market by removing a competitor that has lower prices than them. What could it cost you? Antonios Drossos is a managing partner at Rewheel, a mobile data strategy firm, and he joins us now. The deal could cost T-Mobile as much as $1.35 billion. And the Ryan he's talking to, of course, is Ryan Reynolds, part owner of Mint. That's T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert announcing T-Mobile's acquisition of Mint Mobile. Paper bags are recyclable and biodegradable.MIKE SIEVERT: Ryan, we are so happy to have you and the whole Mint team join the T-Mobile family.

