T-Mobile made a new filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission (PDF) related to its prospective merger with Sprint that claims the combined companies will reach 96% of rural American residents by 2024.
“Together with Sprint, T-Mobile can create a deep, broad and nationwide 5G network that will cover nearly 96% of rural Americans by 2024,” the carrier wrote.
The carrier’s $26.5 billion merger with Sprint is still under review by the FCC, but T-Mobile is consistently pressing for approval following a period where momentum appeared to be shifting to a rejection. T-Mobile CEO John Legere and Sprint Chairman Marcelo Claure faced questions from lawmakers earlier this month during a hearing before the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
However, a second hearing scheduled the following day before the House Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law was postponed and has yet to be rescheduled.
The carriers maintain that a combined company will provide lower prices to customers, more jobs, greater nationwide access and a more powerful 5G network.
“The new T-Mobile is all about bringing value and accessibility to everyone—particularly underserved customers and their communities,” Legere wrote in a tweet and subsequently submitted in the SEC filing.
The company claims that the combined company will “champion affordable access to broadband” and “more Americans will benefit with lower-cost services and improved connectivity on our 5G network.”
According to a site created to organize its messaging and create momentum for the merger’s approval, the combined company will open 600 additional retail locations in “small towns and across rural America.” It also claims the new company will create 12,400 new jobs in small towns and rural America by 2021.