iWireless is a regional carrier that operates in Iowa and a few surrounding areas that include Eastern Nebraska and Western Illinois. The carrier was owned in part by Aureon. Today, T-Mobile announced that it is buying out Aureon to take a controlling interest in iWireless.
Through the acquisition, iWireless's approximately 75,000 customers will gain access to T-Mobile and all of its "Un-carrier" benefits which include all in pricing.
In commenting on the deal, T-Mobile CEO John Legere had the following to say:
"We’re taking T-Mobile to every corner of the country and this deal shows our commitment to expanding in the heart of America....We’ve been disrupting the wireless industry for the benefit of consumers for the last five years now and customers in Iowa will be able to experience the benefits firsthand"
The deal is expected to close in the 4th quarter of 2017 or early 2018.
Since 2015 T-Mobile claims to have doubled its LTE coverage to encompass over 315 million people. By the end of this year, T-Mobile expects to further expand the network with coverage for over 321 million people.
According to T-Mobile's press release, rollout of its 700 Mhz Extended Range LTE network is nearly complete. The 700 Mhz spectrum is said to help T-Mobile's signal travel further and to penetrate buildings better.
T-Mobile plans to further expand its network through the deployment of its newly acquired 600 Mhz spectrum. In Iowa, T-Mobile will now be better equipped to expand its LTE coverage this year in addition to further investment and buildout of the 600 MHz network in the future.
In addition to growing its wireless network footprint, the carrier is also working on growing its distribution network. Through the end of this year T-Mobile plans to grow its distribution network such that a total of 17,000 branded stores will be open. That number also includes stores for its prepaid brand MetroPCS.