T-Mobile US has signed an agreement to acquire self-styled ‘next generation cable provider’ Layer3 TV for an undisclosed fee. The cableco has a confirmed presence in just five cities, including Chicago, Washington DC and Los Angeles. In March this year, Layer3 TV surprised industry observers when it claimed that its TV network passed 13 million homes – a figure which would technically make it one of the United States’ top five largest cablecos by footprint. Going forward, T-Mobile plans to launch its own ‘disruptive’ new TV service next year, in a bid to challenge the legacy cable and satellite TV distribution model.
John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile, commented: ‘People love their TV, but they hate their TV providers. And worse, they have no real choice but to simply take it – the crappy customer service, clunky technology and outrageous bills loaded with fees! That’s where we come in. We’re gonna fix the pain points and bring real choice to consumers across the country.’
Founded in 2013 by cable veterans Dave Fellows and Jeff Binder, Layer3 TV is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, and its leadership team includes former senior executives from Google, CNN, Fox, Comcast, Motorola, Time Warner, Cablevision, and Microsoft.