T-Mobile: Joint Ventures Could Introduce Uncertainty
The carrier closed its acquisition of Lumos, and its bid to buy Metronet is still awaiting approval. Both are joint ventures.
Jake Neenan
WASHINGTON, April 21, 2025 – T-Mobile’s two fiber joint ventures could introduce some uncertainty, the company told investors and federal regulators last week.
“Once closed, differences in views among the joint venture participants may result in delayed decisions or disputes,” the company wrote in an annual report. “Operating through joint ventures in which we do not hold a majority ownership interest results in us having limited control over many decisions made with respect to the businesses of the joint ventures.”
T-Mobile closed on April 1 its acquisition of fiber provider Lumos with investment firm EQT. The carrier put up an initial $950 million, with a planned investment of $500 million between 2027 and 2028. Lumos has about 475,000 passings across the mid-Atlantic, a number T-Mobile is looking to get to 3.5 million by the end of 2028.
The company is still waiting for regulatory approval on a similar bid to purchase another fiber provider, Metronet, with another investment firm, KKR. T-Mobile is set to contribute $4.9 billion to that deal, with the goal of bumping Metronet’s 2 million Midwest passings to 6.5 million by the end of 2030.
The deals are part of a broader effort to expand T-Mobile’s fiber footprint as quickly as possible in an effort to offer bundled home and mobile broadband, which appears to keep customers around longer. All told, the company is aiming to reach up to 15 million fiber passings by the end of 2030. AT&T and Verizon are shooting for 50 million and 40 million, respectively.
“These joint ventures may not be subject to the same requirements regarding internal controls and internal control over financial reporting that we follow,” T-Mobile wrote. “As a result, internal control problems may arise with respect to these joint ventures.”
The company also flagged the increasingly polarized political environment as a potential risk factor, something AT&T and Verizon didn’t mention in their annual reports.
“The current sociopolitical environment is characterized by deep complexity, volatility, and polarization on various social and political issues. The increasing intersection of technology and politics has led to rapid and unpredictable shifts in public sentiment,” the company wrote. “As a company that sells products and services across the nation to millions of customers, these dynamics increase the risk of potential reputational damage, boycotts, and shifts in consumer behavior that could adversely affect our brand, sales and profitability.”
The other two major 5G carriers flagged increasing competition, extreme weather, and adverse economic conditions as potential risk factors, as did T-Mobile.
None of them mentioned the now largely paused tariffs instituted by the Trump administration, but did flag supply chain disruptions as a serious issue should they arise. Analysts expect the big three to have enough inventory to insulate them from higher import costs in the near future.
Verizon reports earnings Tuesday, with AT&T on Wednesday and T-Mobile on Thursday.
