T-Mobile USA is selling some 7,000 mobile towers to cut down on costs related to service and upkeep. The rumors emerged back in March, and a J.P. Morgan analyst predicted that by selling the towers, T-Mobile could save well over $3 billion a year. At the time, T-Mobile did not rush the sales of their towers, but now the small mobile carrier is in desperate need of funds.
T-Mobile is the smallest carrier that still exists independently in the US, and they are the only carrier that hasn’t been able to obtain selling rights for the iPhone. Currently, Crown Castle International holds the leading bid for T-Mobile’s cell phone towers; the company is offering T-Mobile nearly $2 billion. That, combined with the $3 billion the carrier will save every year, may be exactly what the company needs to more aggressively take on larger wireless carriers. What T-Mobile plans to do with the money is currently unknown.
Though nothing official has been announced, the talks with Crown Castle are rumored to have already advanced to a later stage. T-Mobile appears to still be entertaining bids from American Tower and Global Tower Partners, however.