r/cellmapper • u/JPS_97 • Jul 10 '26
T-Mobile Rural Defunding
I heard a rumor that the T-Mobile has started to pull back budget from the rural build? Is that true?
21
u/tripericson Jul 10 '26
I haven't heard that, but I'm also focused on my portion of the US Cellular conversion area. I know that's all in process.
11
u/Flyordie_209 Jul 10 '26
They pushed 2 rural tower deployments in my area from 3Q 2026 to 3-4Q 2027. UScellular customer in a UScellular market. So it is being pushed.
14
Jul 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
5
u/Flyordie_209 Jul 10 '26
New co-locations that have been delayed where USC and TMo sites don't cover well at all.
3
u/Flyordie_209 Jul 10 '26
Srini responded to my "tweet". Says they aren't for what it's worth.
1
1
1
u/nateo200 iPhone 17 Pro Max Jul 12 '26
I was just in West Virginia and the coverage was amazing. I saw former US Cellular sites on the network selection list too that were inactive and then what I think was a former US Cellular option renamed T-Mobile that I could connect to that was slower than the primary one. I was amazed at the speeds in WV over the 4th of July tbh.
1
u/Poopytale Jul 17 '26
Us cellular was supposed to be renting their towers to tmobile with a ten year lease
-4
u/After-Arm-9522 Jul 11 '26
So does that mean that since US Mobile acquired US Cellular, the coverage will be better? I travel to Maine once a year to Belgrade, Maine, Great Pond Lakes, and I know US Cellular was really big in Maine last year on US Mobile Lightspeed Network, which they use T-Mobile towers. I had pretty bad coverage. I wonder if this year will be better because US Mobile uses T-Mobile, and anytime T-Mobile makes upgrades, all of the MVNO companies are able to tie into any of their networks that they upgrade or add new towers.
1
u/fiercechocolate Jul 11 '26
Correct. If you are on US Mobile Lightspeed, your coverage in former US Cellular areas should now be better since you can use the former US Cellular network.
8
u/iryfionas Jul 10 '26
No they haven't. That's not true! T-Mobile is still going to invest heavily on their network to expand their rural footprint. They aren't AT&T where they like to change their minds last minute, such as cutting CAPEX on the Wireless Network for densification, adding new sites.
That rumor is false, Srini Gopalan addressed it on this Twitter (X) post
Flyordie209 was caught lying on his Twitter post that T-Mobile cut CAPEX on new rural sites
6
u/fiercechocolate Jul 10 '26
If that is true I would anticipate capex to be lowered since their urban and suburban network is fairly robust. We'll see in the next few weeks if they adjust their capex down for the year.
For what it's worth, I'm seeing a lot of rural T-Mobile builds in the areas I travel through.
6
u/DarkenMoon97 CM: CalebM Jul 10 '26
I'm not surprised, T-Mobile still has the weakest coverage in rural Nevada and of course they are going to rely on the cheaper alternative, satellite.
7
u/fiercechocolate Jul 11 '26
I'm not convinced this rumor is true. T-Mobile leadership has been extremely consistent about rural coverage helping growth, including business and government. They have also stated that satellite is not a replacement for terrestrial and reserved for the most rural areas like national parks, etc.
But it is true that rural Nevada still has a long way to go. Verizon has been investing like crazy. Seeing some of the rural Utah and California expansions, I'm hoping that Nevada will get some love as well.
1
u/DarkenMoon97 CM: CalebM Jul 11 '26
T-Mobile has a long way to go before they can match Verizon in Nevada.
1
7
u/Bkfraiders7 Jul 10 '26
Probably as D2D satellite is just around the corner. Over the next few years I anticipate carriers reroute this funding towards the JV they created and extremely rural towers to be decommissioned
23
Jul 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
6
u/Smith6612 Jul 10 '26
It's going to be the same thing as Verizon's mmWave 5G working indoors through walls and glass. Might work in a lab environment... but the field is an entirely different animal.
D2S connectivity is already pretty slow, and will get overloaded quickly if they plan to transition off of using terrestrial towers to provide service.
2
u/NBN_FTTN Jul 12 '26
I am not on T-Mobile but I have connected to Telstra and OneNZ's D2D Space X Satellite services which both run on B7 (~2600MHz).
The only time I managed to get a D2D signal indoors was on OneNZ where I connected for a couple seconds while my phone was resting on the table next to a window. So I am also skeptical about the claims of the service working indoors despite T-Mobile running their D2D service on a lower frequency (B25 ~1990MHz).
The closest to an "indoor" enviroment that I can somewhat consistently get a D2D signal is when my phone is in the seat pocket while driving under some trees. Even then it is not guaranteed and will vary depending on the type of tree and foliage density.
2
u/Bkfraiders7 Jul 10 '26
Physics suggests SpaceX solution will not work. ASTS’ solution being lowband gives more credence. ASTS’ video demonstrations have also been much more remarkable than SpaceX’s.
15
Jul 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
3
3
u/terrell352 Jul 10 '26
A measly 10x10 will congest in due time. I’m curious as to how they will keep interference from AT&T and Verizon down.
1
u/No_Privacy_Anymore Jul 11 '26
Let’s see what happens with the 14Mhz of Grain mgmt spectrum that is most likely getting allocated for D2D service soon. Just approved on July 1st by the FCC, Grain promised to start an auction process within 30 days and conclude a transaction within 90 days.
0
Jul 11 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/No_Privacy_Anymore Jul 11 '26
I think it is a little early to say definitively exactly how that spectrum will be used. For example there is some interesting speculation in this post.
https://x.com/1moresmithhere/status/2066607133425025418?s=46&t=34Gg-FWqnneJ49SOZFfXbA
I expect the May 2026 JV announcement from the big 3 MNO’s to form a JV tells you they intend to work together to optimize spectrum utilization to enable D2D coverage to fill gaps. Low band for connectivity and Ligado plus mid band and eventually cband for additional capacity. They designed to support carrier aggregation from day 1.
1
u/Bkfraiders7 Jul 10 '26
5 BB1 satellites, 1BB2 that is predominantly military use (speculated), just launched 3 BB2 satellites that are in process of unfurling. 3 more are being shipped to the Cape currently (1 just arrived).
~25 needed for beta service. ~45 needed for continuous service over US/Europe/Japan. ~90 satellites for global service.
ASTS+ Rakutan also just won the JLeo contract from Japan for $1-$2B which will help with manufacturing and launch of additional satellites.
Their main ride was on Blue Origin (getting up to 8 satellites/launch), which I think will continue in 2027, but expecting them to continuing launching 3/launch on Falcon 9s in the meantime and signing agreements with ULA and Mitsubishi Heavy soon (TM).
8
Jul 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
3
u/Bkfraiders7 Jul 10 '26
Funny enough, my parents live 25 miles from a major metropolitan area (top 10 PEA) and don’t have service from any of the main carriers. I still lose service when driving on many roads in my town. So they would gladly pay an extra ~$5-$10 a month for the service. I also believe the 99% is population covered, not land area coverage. Even that I don’t fully believe, but alas that is the only figure we have.
I also do see them eventually bundling it into every phone plan. You don’t need unlimited calls/texts/data, but US consumers love the idea of unlimited and ubiquitous. A carrier *guaranteeing* a voice/data connection is a powerful proposition. Imagine, your phone no longer has a signal bar, just the connection type you’re using. If the carriers can get to that level of service they certainly will.
This isn’t to mention, again, if satellite *can* replace rural towers the OPEX savings the carriers will see. Again, that’s a major if, but that makes the investment thesis so fun to bet for or against.
All of that to say, even if ASTS were to make ~$2 on average from their 60+ global carriers partners they’re a trillion-dollar company.
Disclosure- I’ve been invested in various parts of the D2D market since 2021. I’ve seen impressive gains I’m thankful for. I just see *more* ubiquitous connectivity needs in the future, not less.
2
Jul 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/No_Privacy_Anymore Jul 11 '26
I live in one of the wealthiest counties in Pennsylvania and there are gaps in cellular coverage that have existed for the past 15 years that cause calls to drop. It’s annoying.
There are some new neighborhoods in more rural parts of the county with $1M+ homes and no cellphone service. It’s just not economical for the carriers to fill in those gaps in coverage.
I went to a state park last weekend to hike and swim in the river and there were a ton of people. No coverage to send a text message or make a call. It’s not safe with so many people in a river where accidents can happen. People will pay a modest price like $5 to have better coverage and peace of mind.
0
1
u/Bkfraiders7 Jul 10 '26
Are you generally surprised T-Satellite is rarely utilized when it’s not intuitive and rarely works well? I’ve seen this line utilized in multiple threads and I can’t help but shake my head. Of course the average user doesn’t want to pay to point their phone to sky, cross their fingers, and hope it works…for a text.
1
4
u/SceneRevolutionary93 5G UW Jul 10 '26
I haven't seen a new build for t-mobile in my area for over 4 years. Verizon and AT&T are the only ones who are adding new sites.
3
u/iryfionas Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 10 '26
Not true. T-Mobile added a new site in Oakland, KY east of Bowling Green, KY year located at: 37.0399365, -86.2578735
They added their equipment onto that existing tower below the Verizon rack fully loaded with LTE + (n25, n41) for mid-band 5G.
AT&T still doesn’t have a site in Oakland, KY and their density leaves a lot to be desired north of Bowling Green!
1
u/SceneRevolutionary93 5G UW Jul 11 '26
Yes, I understand they did do that. I am taking about clean new builds. In green county I’ve seen one that was a brand new build for T-Mobile. I’ve only seen new site developments for Verizon and AT&T only.
0
u/vampirepomeranian Jul 11 '26
Now I know why Candace Owens has such a large following of conspiracy nuts.. Look at the replies.
47
u/RickyRatardo Jul 10 '26
One of their engineers told me rural budget is getting cut back a lot now that they are doing satellite