(Photo: T-Mobile)

While T-Mobile's merger offer with Sprint continues to face challenges on Capitol Hill, the company continues to argue its case with regulators.

Last step to relaunch the $ 26 billion contract: Once combined, the "new T-Mobile" will address cable broadband throughout the country.

In a blog post from CEO John Legere, T-Mobile detailed the new plan. Legere said that thanks to the combination of wireless spectrum, the 5G network could "offer an interesting new option to millions of Americans".

He stressed that this option will be particularly important for people in rural areas of the country where broadband alternatives are limited or nonexistent.

T-Mobile would provide the router and users would install it at home using an application.

A service driver running on T-Mobile's 4G LTE network will start "soon", depending on the message, with the router being provided free of charge. Legere states that it will be upgraded to support the 2.5GHz and 5G spectrum (Sprint uses the 2.5GHz spectrum as part of its 5G network).

Legere writes that the company hopes to have 9.5 million home broadband subscribers by 2024, with speeds greater than 100 Mbps for 90% of the population by 2024.

In a separate document filed Thursday at the Federal Communications Commission, T-Mobile provides an image of the 4G LTE router, a virtually indescribable white box, as well as additional details about the service.

More: T-Mobile says it will have unlimited 5G plans and will not increase its rates

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The company indicates in the document that the 5G router will also be provided free to customers.

In addition to an Internet offering, T-Mobile's FCC notification also discusses its future alternative to cable television via Layer3, a company it acquired in 2017.

"Coupled with the Internet at home, Layer3 will provide a super-content distribution platform offering packages with more than 275 HD channels, a growing selection of 4K videos and digital home video recordings in homes across the country," writes the society.

The pricing information has been redacted in the rankings.

Push rural areas

T-Mobile's file and Legere's blog both highlight the need for broadband in rural areas, which seems appealing to the government, which previously stated the need to improve Internet service in these areas of the country. country.

Last March, Congress allocated $ 600 million to the US Department of Agriculture to launch a "ReConnect Program" to expand broadband Internet access to "rural areas without adequate broadband access" .

Not the first to use 5G for the home

While T-Mobile talks at length about its domestic broadband 5G plans, it is far from being the first to talk about 5G as an alternative to home broadband.

Last year, Verizon launched its first 5G network as a high-speed home alternative in four cities. Although the company has since prioritized its 5G mobile network, it has indicated that it will use its 5G network to offer broadband at home.

T-Mobile indicates in its document that the service "can not be carried out by T-Mobile or by Sprint alone".

"Sprint currently does not plan to provide the fixed home wireless broadband service envisioned for the new T-Mobile.T-Mobile, as an autonomous entity, offers at best limited plans."

Although the idea of ​​increased competition in home broadband is appealing, T-Mobile still has to convince to dispel fears that wireless competition will suffer if the country's major carriers move from four to three.

Democrats in the House and Senate, including a number of presidential candidates, have recently filed letters to the FCC and the Department of Justice against the merger.

While lawmakers may express their thoughts on potential agreements, final approval of the merger ultimately rests with the FCC and the DOJ.

Follow Eli Blumenthal on Twitter @eliblumenthal

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