Mayor Adams and Chief Technology Officer Fraser Announce T-Mobile as Major Carrier for City of New York, Saving Taxpayers Millions of Dollars Each Year

February 24, 2025

City Employees Who Are Currently T-Mobile Customers Will Now Be Eligible
for Discounts Off T-Mobile Personal Plans, Putting Money Back in Their Pockets 

City Employees New to T-Mobile Will Be Eligible for Personal Plans at Discounted Rates 

New Partnership to Ensure City Employees, Especially First Responders, 
Have Access to Cutting-Edge Technology, Reliable Service to Best Serve New Yorkers 

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Matthew Fraser, and T-Mobile today announced a new agreement to serve as the major carrier to support city operations, saving city taxpayers millions of dollars over the five-year deal on city-issued mobile devices. The new deal also ensures that city employees have access to cutting-edge technology and reliable service to best serve New Yorkers, especially in regard to public safety. Additionally, city employees who are currently customers of T-Mobile will now be eligible for a reduced rate on their monthly personal wireless plans. City employees who join T-Mobile will be eligible for personal wireless plans at a reduced rate as well. Today’s announcement represents another major step in delivering on Mayor Adams’ mission of making New York City safer through the use of upgraded technology and more affordable by putting money back in the pockets of working-class families. 

“To keep New Yorkers safe, our city government needs to lead from the front, embracing innovative, forward-looking technology. But we need to also ensure we are protecting taxpayer dollars, while simultaneously finding ways to make our city more affordable for our dedicated municipal workforce,” said Mayor Adams. “T-Mobile has a proven track record of delivering the highest level of service and security needed for a city like New York City. Together, we will save million in taxpayer dollars, put millions of dollars in savings back into the pockets of our workforce’s pockets, continue to utilize cutting-edge technology, and, most importantly, ensure that our brave first responders have the tools they need to better protect our city.” 

“Our mission is to use cutting-edge technology to make New York City safer and more affordable for all, and this collaboration with T-Mobile is helping us do just that,” said CTO Fraser. “By leveraging T-Mobile’s innovative technology, we’re ensuring that New York City’s first responders have the tools they need to operate at the highest level — a critical component of our mission to enhance public safety.”   

“The opportunity to serve the first responders, employees, and residents of New York City is a tremendous honor for T-Mobile, and we’re already off to a great start,” said Callie Field, president, T-Mobile Business Group. “The scale and scope of what this city does to keep its people safe every day, paired with the administration’s vision of a safer and more affordable New York, is a perfect match for T-Mobile's relentless focus on delivering solutions that combine the nation’s leading 5G network with the greatest customer value in wireless.” 

The agreement will help reduce the cost of wireless services for city government employees. City government employees with T-Mobile service will be eligible for discounts on their monthly rate plan. New activation of wireless services by government employees will also qualify for discounted plans. City employees and their families will have access to discounted T-Mobile plans in the coming weeks.  

T-Mobile brings a proven track record of success as the first provider in the world to roll out a 5G standalone network in 2020 and runs the largest, scaled 5G standalone network in the United States today. As part of this announcement, the City of New York will now have access to the latest 5G technology in the nation. First responders will specifically have access to T-Mobile’s T-Priority, an innovative program that delivers 5G network experience for first responders on the front lines along with increased security. T-Priority features the world's first 5G network slice for first responders, which allows for less lag time, faster 5G speeds more consistently, and the highest priority across every single 5G band, even in times of extreme congestion.  

Today’s announcement also, once again, showcases Mayor Adams’ commitment to making New York City more affordable. Over the last three years, the Adams administration has already saved New Yorkers more than $30 billion by connecting working-class families to city, state, and federal programs. Last year, Mayor Adams' unveiled his "Axe the Tax for the Working Class" proposal as part of his Albany agenda that will bring significant tax relief to working-class families and return over $63 million to New York City families, benefitting more than 582,000 New Yorkers. Axe the Tax would eliminate the New York City Personal Income Tax for filers with dependents living at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty line, as well as lower city personal income taxes for filers immediately above that threshold, too. If passed into law, Axe the Tax for the Working Class could bring relief to working-class families as soon as tax year 2025. 

Since taking office, the Adams administration has launched, administered, and advocated for a broad range of benefits that have saved working-class New Yorkers more than $30 billion. Highlights of these savings include: 

• Big Apple Connect: Free high-speed internet and basic TV for public housing residents – $200 million. 
• Child Care Vouchers: Vouchers for affordable child care – $1.9 billion. 
• Direct Property Tax Relief: A range of tax abatements for seniors, disabled homeowners, and other New Yorkers – $1 billion. 
• NYC Earned Income Tax Credit: Returns tax dollars to qualifying families and individuals – $345 million. 
• Groceries to Go: Monthly credits to purchase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program eligible groceries for delivery or pickup – $8 million. 
• NYC Financial Empowerment Centers: Free one-on-one professional financial counseling and coaching to help increase savings, reduce debts, and support New Yorkers’ financial goals – $26 million. 
• Year-Round Free Tax Prep: Free services for qualified individuals, families, and self-employed New Yorkers – $220 million. 
• Medical Debt Relief: Starting the process to eliminate medical debt for 500,000 New Yorkers – $1.8 billion. 
• Summer Rising: Free summer programming, including free meals, transportation, and medical and social services support, for K-8 students – $1.9 billion. 
• Transportation for Older New Yorkers: Free transportation to help older New Yorkers get to critical medical appointments, social service appointments, and more – $1.5 million. 

Today’s announcement is also part of the Adams administration’s ongoing efforts to bring the city’s infrastructure into the 21st century, remain on the cutting-edge of technology, and make high-speed internet more accessible to all New Yorkers. In September 2022, Mayor Adams launched ‘Big Apple Connect,’ the nation’s largest municipal broadband program that provides residents of New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments a free bundle that consists of in-home, high-speed internet connection, including a modem and router; basic cable TV service, including a cable box and remote control; and common area Wi-Fi hotspots, selected in consultation with NYCHA. As of today, Big Apple Connect has provided free access to 150,000 households in 220 NYCHA facilities citywide.  

Big Apple Connect builds on the city’s suite of digital equity initiatives, aimed at making sure every New Yorker has the connectivity they need to participate in an increasingly digital society. Other efforts include the city’s Gigabit Centers, which provide free connectivity and digital literacy training to community centers, and the New York City Office of Technology and Innovation’s ‘Connected Communities’ program, a large-scale digital inclusion initiative that delivers digital literacy and employment resources in historically-underserved areas for thousands of New Yorkers every year. 

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