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Is it game over for T-Mobile after Verizon and AT&T's big satellite breakthrough? Not even close!

By Adrian Diaconescu

Published: Feb 05, 2025, 8:00 AM

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Verizon picture showing satellite for improved wireless coverage

After a number of years of pretty clear supremacy for one particular carrier (or should I say "Un-carrier"?) in terms of both speeds and service availability, the US mobile network operator battles are heating up all of a sudden... with some help from space.

While Elon Musk's dream of colonizing other planets remains as unlikely to pan out anytime soon as the addition of someone like Luka Doncic Nikola Jokic to the Lakers roster, Donald Trump's right-hand man is undeniably playing a crucial role in T-Mobile's extraterrestrial signal expansion.

But just when it seemed like Magenta was ready to further widen its technological lead over Verizon and AT&T, the two carriers often labeled "Dumb and Dumber" by America's 5G champion jumped into the limelight with an exciting (joint) breakthrough of their own.

Wait, so who has the upper hand in the satellite arena now?

Still T-Mobile. Does that answer surprise you? Did you expect me to dodge my own (seemingly rhetorical) question and tell you that this is a far too complicated matter to settle with such a simple and direct answer? Then surprise, I guess.

Magenta is about to take its "Above and Beyond" coverage... further above and further beyond. | Image Credit -- T-Mobile

See, if there's one thing all of my years covering bombastic Verizon and AT&T announcements have taught me, it's that you should always treat everything the two carriers promise to deliver without a clear timeline with the utmost caution and skepticism.

Just look at Big Red's News Center post following the FCC's granting of a temporary authorization for AST SpaceMobile satellite service tests. While the company boastfully (and misleadingly) starts by claiming that "satellites are no longer reserved for the extraordinary" (notice the present tense?) and are instead "woven into the everyday", connecting and powering "customers' lives" (right at this moment, you'd think), the 700-word promotional text ends without providing the vaguest public deployment goal.

Although it was probably unrealistic to expect an exact release date here, Verizon isn't even treating us to the usual "coming soon" or "in the next few months" vernacular, which strongly suggests (at least to me) that the vast majority of its customers will not be able to come close to this groundbreaking satellite technology by the end of 2025.

I'm not basing that prediction entirely on my hunch, mind you, as AST SpaceMobile recently revealed that its still-nascent satellite constellation is likely to reach the scale "required for continuous coverage of the US, Europe, and Japan" either "this year or the next." Translation - maybe in 2026. Until that happens, all Verizon (and AT&T) can do is test the technology for limited periods of time in certain parts of the country, which doesn't sound like the ideal setup for true, palpable innovation for the masses.

Will Verizon and AT&T eventually catch up to T-Mobile?

Maybe... and maybe not. Coincidentally, that same answer applies to the 5G availability and speed fields, where T-Mo gained a massive early advantage over its two arch-rivals by betting big on mid-band spectrum, and Verizon and AT&T are still struggling to make up for the ground they lost by believing in the large-scale impact of mmWave tech or simply not doing enough to improve and expand their networks at the right time.

T-Mobile's 5G layer cake remains unrivaled, and the same could be true for Magenta's satellite rollout strategy. | Image Credit -- T-Mobile

Once again, T-Mobile has chosen to do its own thing, relying on SpaceX's already expansive constellation of over 100 Starlink satellites rather than waiting for AST SpaceMobile to fulfil its promises. And once again, there are arguments to be made that Verizon and AT&T's path to satellite connectivity is technologically superior, not requiring users to own the latest and greatest phones to embrace what's supposed to eliminate the few "Dead Zones" still existent across the US.

But while I wouldn't typically put that much importance on which carrier was first to start their public beta tests, it's pretty clear that Verizon and AT&T are at least a few big steps behind T-Mobile in yet another key network development field.

What's ironic is that T-Mo's exclusivity deal with SpaceX will only last a year, after which many industry analysts expect Verizon and AT&T to jump on the Starlink ship. That would further highlight the "Un-carrier's" supremacy in the satellite arena, making it even harder for Big Red and Ma Bell to pose as innovators and trendsetters rather than the trend followers and laggards they so very clearly are.

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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.