Wireless carrier/operator subscriber share in the U.S. 2011-2023

The telecommunications firm AT&T is the leading provider of mobile services in the United States (U.S.) with a market share of about 46.9 percent of wireless subscriptions in the third quarter of 2023. Verizon and T-Mobile are the other major wireless carriers in the U.S.  The market share is based on subscription figures reported by the companies in quarterly earnings and financial statements. Mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) subscriptions were not taken into account for the statistic.

Seismic shift: T-Mobile and Sprint Merger

T-Mobile’s 26.5 billion U.S. dollar acquisition of Sprint Corp. became official on 1st April 2020, a merger that temporarily reduced the number of major wireless providers in the United States. Under the terms of the merger, T-Mobile acquired Sprint’s 33.84 million postpaid subscribers, joining the 47 million T-Mobile postpaid wireless subscribers. DISH Network Corporation acquired Sprint’s prepaid mobile business, Boost Mobile, raising that number to four, satisfying the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) that the market would remain competitive. 

T-Mobile is the largest US telco by market cap

As of 2023, T-Mobile had a market capitalization of 165.3 billion U.S. dollars, the highest of any US telecommunications company. Beijing-based China Mobile and Comcast wereworth more, with a market cap of 185.7 and 182.5 billion U.S. dollars respectively. Verizon and AT&T were valued at 138.69 and 107.38 billion U.S. dollars respectively.