By a huge margin, the top viewed story on FierceWireless for 2021, based on web traffic, was the “Fiercest Women in Telecom” contest pitting 24 female executives against each other. It was one for the record books and featured the brightest minds in the business.
Other than that, T-Mobile’s skirmish with Dish Network over the shutdown of T-Mobile’s CDMA network, as well as free phone promotions and shifts in retail jobs, were big draws for our attention this year.
Here’s a list of our Top 10 stories from 2021.
10. T-Mobile ‘running fast’ to achieve benefits of merger
One of the huge benefits of merging with Sprint (besides spectrum) is converging network resources. In June, T-Mobile CFO Peter Osvaldik provided an overview of their overall integration progress, saying things were going pretty well despite the pandemic.
9. Verizon, T-Mobile get ready to rumble with cable
8. AT&T scores fastest 5G network, Verizon’s availability drags down speed
AT&T kicked off the year on a high note, with Ookla naming AT&T as the fastest U.S. mobile operator in the fourth quarter of 2020 – for both 4G and 5G. T-Mobile nabbed second place for speed and continued its reign as carrier with most time spent on 5G.
7. DT rumored to want majority control of T-Mobile US
6. T-Mobile strikes back in feud with Dish over CDMA shutdown
After getting accused of being very “carrier-like” in its behavior, T-Mobile struck back, saying it was Dish’s own fault for not enticing its customers to move onto a newer, more modern network. T-Mobile insisted it gave Dish enough time to migrate customers off CDMA.
5. What T-Mobile 3G CDMA shutdown means for Boost Mobile
Dish complained that the shutdown would impact “millions” of Boost Mobile subscribers, leaving them with limited or no service come January 2022 – not a good prospect for the New Year. Eventually, T-Mobile gave Dish three additional months, moving the shutdown to the end of March 2022, but Dish said that still wasn’t enough time.
4. Verizon shifts retail jobs, offers severance to some employees
Through the course of re-examining the retail side of its business, Verizon gave some employees the option of applying for other roles within the business or accepting a severance package and “transitional services” if they chose to leave the company. Verizon said the trend toward more digital services started before the pandemic.
3. Concerns grow over Verizon’s acquisition of TracFone
Verizon’s plan to acquire TracFone, the largest wireless reseller in the U.S., sparked concerns across the wireless industry, particularly concerning the future of MVNOs. Consumer groups feared that with TracFone out of the picture, no other big entity would remain to exert downward pricing pressure on the national facilities-based carriers. By the end of 2021, Verizon won regulatory approval for the deal, but that came after it made commitments to preserving participation in Lifeline, among other things.
2. Verizon offers free 5G phones to lure premium customers
Verizon followed in its competitors’ footsteps and announced that its customers could trade in an old phone and get a new 5G phone for free – with select plans. AT&T kicked off the promo wars in October 2020 when it began offering an aggressive 5G iPhone deal.
1. FierceWireless 2021 — Fiercest Women in Telecom
As the top viewed story in 2021, our first “Fiercest Women in Telecom” contest generated fierce competition and some old-fashioned fun. The winner was Sujata Gosalia, executive vice president and chief strategy officer for Cox Communications, where she edged out Frontier Communications' Veronica Bloodworth in a contest where wired service providers clearly demonstrated their abilities to get the vote out. At Cox, Gosalia sets the strategic vision and growth agenda for the largest private telecom provider in the U.S.