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T-Mobile US has quietly moved to acquire Minnesota-based fibre operator US Internet as it strives to narrow a footprint and user gap with larger wireline rivals AT&T and Verizon.<\/p>\n
The operator has not made a splash about the deal, or even commented on it, but notified US Internet customers via letter earlier this month that they will become T-Mobile customers on or after 2 September 2025, according to local reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the letter, T-Mobile said the closing date for the transaction is not set but it anticipates receiving regulatory approval around that time.<\/p>\n Launched in 1995, US Internet provides fibre broadband in the metropolitan and suburban areas of Minnesota\u2019s Twin Cities, Minneapolis and Saint Paul. It started offering a citywide Wi-Fi service in Minneapolis in 2008 and launched fibre services in 2010.<\/p>\n New Street Research estimates that US Internet\u2019s footprint reaches 192,000 locations, as reported by Fierce Network<\/a>.<\/p>\n More fibre in TMUS diet<\/p>\n T-Mobile is a distant challenger<\/a> in the fibre market with a relatively small network presence. It started offering fibre services in September 2021 as a trial in New York City<\/a> and officially entered the market in June this year with the launch of T-Mobile Fiber Home Internet offerings.<\/p>\n It has a target to reach twelve million to 15 million fibre homes passed by 2030, but its footprint would still be dwarfed by AT&T and Verizon. Today, AT&T has more than 30 million fibre locations.<\/p>\n T-Mobile has been clear about its intention to build up its fibre presence through acquisitions<\/a> and has flagged that it expects to amass a war chest of $20bn (\u20ac17.2bn) that could be available for fibre buys.<\/p>\n During latest earnings call last month, Chief Operating Officer Srini Gopalan reiterated the operator\u2019s interest in \u201cpure-play fibre assets\u201d, while Chief Executive Mike Sievert ruled out cable and \u201cchasing scale for scale\u2019s sake\u201d.<\/p>\n The operator has closed two joint venture-based investments this year to acquire Lumos<\/a> and Metronet<\/a>. It has also expanded existing wholesale partnerships<\/a> with the two fibrecos.<\/p>\n With Lumos, T-Mobile\u2019s fibre footprint covered just 500,000 homes with plans to expand to 3.5 million by 2028. With Metronet, the fibre network gained two million households and businesses passed in 17 states.<\/p>\n T-Mobile\u2019s fibre investments are structured as fibreco JVs. The operator formed a 50:50 JV with Sweden-based investment firm EQT to acquire Lumos and committed to invest an initial $950m and a further $500m between 2027 and 2028 to expand the footprint to 3.5 million premises. Similarly, T-Mobile teamed with private equity firm KKR on a 50:50 JV to take over and manage Metronet\u2019s infrastructure assets, with an investment commitment of $4.9bn for the buyout and network expansion plans.<\/p>\n