T-Mobile TV is as the nation’s third-largest mobile service completed its purchase of Denver-based Layer3 TV on Tuesday, T-Mobile officials said.
But it still will take time to turn on the service, which in its Layer3 life has targeted home users watching on high-definition screens. T-Mobile TV service targets mobile devices and will launch in 2018 — and it will be available to AT&T and Verizon customers. According to the , the “disruptive” service won’t force users to pay for channels they don’t want. And all a user needs is an internet connection, meaning this goes beyond smartphones.
“People are ready for choice and change,” John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile, said in a statement. “I can’t wait to take the fight to Big Cable and Satellite TV on behalf of consumers everywhere!”
Layer3 moved its headquarters to Denver in 2014 after incentives from the state. It raised $80 million from investors as it built a broadband internet-based TV service touting nearly every HD channel available. The company launched service in Chicago, Washington D.C., Dallas, Los Angeles — before attracting T-Mobile’s interest.
T-Mobile won’t say how much it paid for Layer3 other than it “is not expected to impact previously announced company guidance or expectations,” the company said. The T-Mobile TV team is led by Jeff Binder, formerly Layer3’s CEO, and will be based in Denver. Layer3’s 200 employees also joined T-Mobile.
