T-Mobile could be interested in big fiber home internet investments

T-Mobile is said to be considering building a fiber network worth multibillions of dollars that it could use for home internet service. According to Bloomberg. The company began testing fiber internet in the last year. However, its main home-focused offering connects to 5G and not other wired infrastructure such as DSL or cable.

Bloomberg reports that the carrier has been working with Citigroup to find financial partners for a potential $4 billion joint venture or “commercial partnership.” It seems like early days for the plan, and it’s possible nothing will come of it, but it still feels like a significant step for the wireless carrier, which has traditionally used and managed a very different kind of infrastructure.

Meanwhile, T-Mobile’s current home and business internet offerings (at least the ones that are widely available) rely on its 5G and LTE networks. It does have the advantage of being able to spread coverage quicker than if it had to put fiber in place, but there are also limitations. Bad user experience can resultA fiber network will nearly always outperform a cell phone one. For T-Mobile, it’d be good to be able to offer both options in some areas: a relatively inexpensive cellular option for people with relatively light internet needs and a fiber offering for power users and people who require rock-solid service.

T-Mobile didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment on its search for partners to build a fiber network and about how many users are currently on its fiber home internet pilot. When We wrote about this service in August last year, T-Mobile had only made it available in parts of New York City and was using a local fiber provider’s infrastructure instead of its own. According to BloombergThe carrier has been exploring other partnerships to make a similar arrangement.

T-Mobile may be investing big in fiber, but its main home internet provider will likely still be fixed-wireless. As Google has shownBuilding a fiber network can take a lot of time and money. Established players are being pushed back.This year, it was earlier. T-Mobile announcesOne million people had signed up to its 5G home internet service. It was also capable of providing the service to more than 40,000,000 households.