Goodbye, Sprint? Yep -- T-Mobile is eighty-six'ing its new partner's brand name by mid-summer, according to FierceWireless.
Despite Sprint's 33 years as a telecommunications brand, T-Mobile feels confident that having a single flagship is a smarter move than confusing the market with two brands or running the risk of cannibalizing itself.
T-Mobile hasn't given a specific date for dropping the Sprint name, but reports are circulating that it's likely August 2.
Out of the gate, the changes consumers will see first are the typical branding resets that happen when one company buys another -- invoices, signage, etc.
As for Sprint customers smitten with their current plans, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert promised at an investor event earlier in the week that they can and won't be required to change over…yet. Eventually, T-Mobile would like to see all its customers on the same page to make life easier.
5G Sprint phones could be an issue
In a recent study by Waveform, 22 percent of T-Mobile and 19 percent of Sprint subscribers were “extremely excited” about the coming of 5G. However, the Sprint side of that equation -- more than 10 million customers -- might not be so excited with the anticipated changes.
The biggest question swirling around is what will happen to the 5G-enabled phones marketed by Sprint in 2019. The complete answer is still in the ether somewhere.
According to CNET, Sprint's Galaxy S20 phones will be brought along for the upgrade to T-Mobile's ever-expanding 5G network. Older Sprint 5G phones from 2019 will not be getting updates to enable access to T-Mobile's 5G network. However, those phone models will be able to ride on the existing Sprint 5G signal until it, too, is sunsetted.
For owners of the 5G-enabled Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, OnePlus 7 Pro 5G, and LG V50 ThinQ 5G, sorry, but they'll be downgraded to 4G LTE.
Finally, PhoneArena reports that consumers who purchased the HTC 5G Hub should receive a $12.50 monthly credit for the rest of their installment plan. For those who paid full-retail upfront, a one-time $300 bill credit will be applied.