T-Mobile US Sees Broadband, AI Growth as CFO Osvaldik Plans 2027 Retirement

Key Points

• Broadband is a major growth driver: T-Mobile has nearly 10 million broadband subscribers and targets 15 million 5G broadband and 3–4 million fiber subscribers by 2030. Executives said fixed wireless and fiber are complementary, with improved routers bringing fixed-wireless speeds closer to fiber.
• The company is expanding beyond wireless: T-Mobile sees opportunities in business services, financial services, AI-enabled customer care and “physical AI,” while continuing to pursue UScellular integration synergies of $1.2 billion in the second year.
• CFO Peter Osvaldik plans to retire in mid-2027: He said the company is positioned for its next growth phase and expects disciplined capital allocation, with no major increase in network spending until the anticipated 6G investment cycle later this decade. Management also downplayed Starlink as a significant competitive threat.

T-Mobile US NASDAQ: TMUS executives said the company sees continued growth opportunities in wireless, broadband, business services and newer adjacencies, while maintaining that potential competitive threats from satellite providers and industry convergence offerings have not altered its strategy.

Speaking at Citi’s communications and infrastructure conference, Chief Financial Officer Peter Osvaldik also discussed his planned retirement at the end of his contract in mid-2027. Osvaldik said he had first discussed stepping away from corporate work about three and a half years ago and wants to focus on family and philanthropy.

Osvaldik said the company extended his tenure by a year during its CEO transition and that he believes the business is positioned for its next phase of growth. He said his successor, Jessica, brings capital-allocation experience, operational leadership experience from GE Vernova and a focus on artificial intelligence adoption. No last name was provided during the discussion.

Growth outlook centered on network and broadband

Osvaldik said T-Mobile’s strategy remains focused on delivering network quality, value and customer experience. He identified “network seekers” as a key opportunity, estimating there are roughly 20 million consumer-family and business accounts for which network quality is the primary reason for selecting a wireless provider.

The company also sees room to expand in smaller and rural markets. Osvaldik said those markets represent about 40% of the U.S. population, while T-Mobile’s share in those areas was approximately 24%, including the impact of the UScellular acquisition.

T-Mobile continues to target business and government customers through its T-Mobile for Business unit. Osvaldik cited a recent deployment with the PGA as an example of how network slicing and quality-of-service capabilities can address operational needs beyond basic connectivity.

Broadband remains another major growth area. Osvaldik said T-Mobile has grown its broadband base to nearly 10 million subscribers over the past five to six years, with fixed wireless representing the largest portion. The company has guided for 15 million 5G broadband subscribers and 3 million to 4 million fiber subscribers by 2030.

Chief Commercial Officer André Almeida said fixed wireless and fiber should be viewed as complementary offerings rather than competing products. He said fiber customers can free fixed-wireless capacity for additional subscribers in other areas, while the company evaluates fiber investments based on expected shareholder returns rather than a target number of homes passed.

Almeida said T-Mobile’s latest fixed-wireless routers and network improvements have brought average Wi-Fi download speeds close to fiber levels. He said the technology’s improvement has broadened the potential customer base beyond the lower end of the broadband market.

Convergence and financial-services initiatives

Almeida said T-Mobile does not view convergence—the bundling of wireless and broadband—as a standalone force reshaping the market. He said that despite broad availability of converged offers in the United States over the past several years, T-Mobile has continued to lead in mobile and broadband subscriber growth, service-revenue growth and ARPA expansion.

He cited the company’s reported second-quarter results, including 277,000 net account additions, 2% year-over-year ARPA growth and 3.7% organic ARPA growth. Almeida also said T-Mobile had led the industry in broadband net additions for 18 consecutive quarters.

Osvaldik highlighted financial services as a potential adjacency, saying the company’s customer relationships, distribution footprint and T-Life app—whose monthly active user base he said totals 30 million—could lower customer-acquisition costs relative to financial technology startups. He said the company’s co-branded credit-card launch with Capital One has been among Capital One’s most successful co-branded launches.

Looking further ahead, Osvaldik said the company sees potential in “physical AI,” where edge-network capabilities could help connected devices process data with lower latency than cloud-based alternatives. He said this could expand the addressable market for network providers over the 2030 to 2035 period.

Rate-plan changes, AI and capital allocation

Chief Operating Officer Jon Freier said T-Mobile’s recent rate-plan actions, which migrated customers from older 3G- and 4G-era plans to current 5G plans, proceeded as expected. He said the effort created some temporary churn and was reflected in the company’s third-quarter expectation for 250,000 overall postpaid account net additions.

Freier said the company introduced 36-month equipment installment plans through its Experience 2.0 plans, lowering monthly device payments compared with 24-month financing. He also said T-Mobile launched EIP Flex in August to reduce upfront costs for prime and near-prime customers switching to the carrier.

On customer care, Freier said T-Mobile has completed 55% of its goal to reduce inbound customer-care calls by 75%, using artificial intelligence and the T-Life app. He said the company remains on track toward the target and has recorded higher customer satisfaction scores.

Freier also said the UScellular integration remains on track. He said T-Mobile is targeting $1.2 billion in year-two synergies, including $950 million of operating-expense savings and $250 million of capital-expenditure savings.

Osvaldik said T-Mobile does not anticipate a step change in network capital expenditures before the natural 6G investment cycle toward the end of the decade. He said the company plans to retain its existing disciplined capital-allocation approach for potential spectrum investments, share repurchases and other uses of capital.

Satellite competition

Osvaldik said T-Mobile does not view SpaceX’s Starlink as a significant wireless competitive threat, arguing that direct-to-device satellite services face physical limitations in signal strength and indoor coverage. He said T-Mobile has no interest in offering Starlink an MVNO arrangement.

He said satellite broadband may be more viable in deep-rural and suburban-fringe locations, while T-Mobile continues to expand broadband from urban and denser suburban areas. Osvaldik said this leaves cable operators facing competitive pressure from both directions.

Executives said the company expects its network position, broadband expansion, customer experience initiatives and emerging businesses to support service-revenue growth, EBITDA growth and free-cash-flow growth, although Osvaldik did not provide new multiyear financial guidance.

About T-Mobile US (NASDAQ:TMUS)

T-Mobile US, Inc NASDAQ: TMUS is a wireless communications company that provides mobile voice, messaging and data services to consumers, businesses and government customers in the United States. Its offerings include postpaid and prepaid wireless plans, connected devices, smartphones, accessories and related communications services.

The company operates its consumer business primarily under the T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile brands. It also provides fixed wireless broadband, which uses its wireless network to deliver internet access to homes and businesses, as well as specialized connectivity services for connected devices and other applications.

T-Mobile US operates a nationwide wireless network, including a broad 5G network, and serves customers throughout the United States, including Puerto Rico and the U.S.

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