T-Mobile calls on Verizon, AT&T to commit to renewable electricity

By Brenda Stolyar Published January 30, 2018

On Monday, January 29, T-Mobile announced its plans to move to 100 percent renewable electricity by 2021. The “Un-carrier” is now committing $500,000 to a non-profit that is specifically dedicated to pushing clean energy initiatives. If AT&T and Verizon join in, T-Mobile will triple its total.

A video featuring John Legere, T-Mobile’s CEO and president, urges people to grab the attention of both AT&T and Verizon’s CEOs — Randall Stephenson and Lowell McAdam, respectively — by contacting them. If one of the two carriers commits to 100 percent renewable energy by June 1, then T-Mobile will throw in $100,00. If both carriers commit, then T-Mobile will raise the amount to $1.5 million.

Recommended Videos

Aside from referring to the two carriers as “dumb and dumber,” Legere also explains that while AT&T and Verizon use enough energy to power 2.6 million homes, only one percent of that energy comes from renewable sources. In order to get them on board with making the commitment to clean power, T-Mobile basically wants you to flood Stephenson and McAdam’s inboxes and social media notifications.

You will be able to do this two different ways. You can head over to Go Green America — an advocacy environmental research organization — and submit a pre-written e-mail to both CEOs stating you believe carriers should take action when it comes to addressing climate change. You can also tag both carriers on social media and use the hashtag “#CleanUpWireless.”

T-Mobile is the first carrier to join RE100, which is a global initiative that includes more than 100 businesses committed to the same cause. This includes tech companies like Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, and more.

To support its commitment, T-Mobile is also backing another wind farm project in Kansas with power generation scheduled to begin in early 2019. The first wind farm project went live back in December and is located in Oklahoma.

Combined, T-Mobile claims both will generate enough energy to meet about 60 percent of the carrier’s total energy needs across the country. The company also has plans to buy more wind power each year in order to reach 100 percent.

While the entire initiative may sound like T-Mobile’s way to gain some good publicity, it does raise awareness when it comes to climate change. Whether or not the campaign sparks a response out of Verizon and AT&T has yet to be seen.

Staff Writer, Mobile

Brenda became obsessed with technology after receiving her first Dell computer from her grandpa in the second grade. While…

Topics

Mobile

T-Mobile is getting rid of its misleading ‘Price Lock’ policy

T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert standing in front of a banner that reads Internet Freedom.

T-Mobile just got into some trouble with the National Advertising Program (NAD), a part of the BBB National Programs, an independent non-profit organization, for advertising its supposed “Price Lock” policy for 5G internet service.

Basically, the premise behind the “Price Lock” was a promise not to increase prices for customers who were on the Un-Contract Promise: “Starting January 18, 2024, customers activating or switching to an eligible rate plan get our Price Lock guarantee that only you can change what you pay—and we mean it!”

Mobile

5 carriers you should use instead of T-Mobile

When it comes to performance, quality, and reliability, T-Mobile is undoubtedly one of the best carriers in the U.S. It offers the fastest speeds and the broadest coverage with reasonably priced plans that include quite a few perks.

However, that may still add up to more than you want to pay; top-notch performance comes with a higher price tag attached. The good news is that T-Mobile is far from the only game in town. In addition to the other two of the big three U.S. carriers -- AT&T and Verizon -- there are dozens of Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) that piggyback on the big carrier networks with more affordable plans that offer the same coverage and great performance at a fraction of the price. You’ll get fewer perks, and customer service may not be as responsive, but those may be reasonable tradeoffs for how much you’ll save.

Mobile

T-Mobile is buying one of the largest carriers in the U.S.

If you were impacted by T-Mobile's latest price hike and were looking for an alternative carrier, we have some bad news — T-Mobile is buying US Cellular. For those unaware, U.S. Cellular is the fifth-largest carrier in the U.S. despite being a regional carrier based mostly in the Chicago area. Unlike mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) like Metro by T-Mobile or Visible, which piggyback on a parent carrier’s network, US Cellular has its own towers and stores.

The deal would see T-Mobile pay $4.4 billion to take over US Cellular’s wireless customers, stores, and 30% of its spectrum assets. It includes a combination of cash and T-Mobile assuming $2 billion of U.S. Cellular’s debt. US Cellular will keep control of 4,400 of its towers and 70% of its spectrum portfolio, but T-Mobile will extend its leases for 600 US Cellular towers and sign new long-term leases on 2,015 more towers. In a conference call about the deal, T-Mobile also committed to hiring a significant number of U.S. Cellular associates.