The uncertainty surrounding the greatest merger the US wireless industry has ever known technically ended on April 1 (no joke), as T-Mobile and Sprint managed to finally obtain the necessary legal approvals and regulatory certifications to become one incredibly powerful carrier, but plenty of confusion lingered on regarding what comes next from a consumer’s point of view.

Remember, remember the 2nd of August

Basically, the Sprint name will be erased from public memory, with new customers directed to New T-Mobile and current subscribers likely to see “limitations on their accounts.” The nature of these rumored limitations is not exactly clear right now, but we’re sure Magenta aims to make it nice and easy to become a T-Mobile customer… if you so choose.

Some changes will be gradual and others will take time

Further down the line, all T-Mobile and Sprint employees are apparently scheduled to move into “one system” sometime in January 2021, but unfortunately, the internal document posted on Reddit is blurred out to hide the consumer-facing changes (if any) that are also set to come into effect at the beginning of next year.

You should also keep in mind that even if real, which is by no means a guarantee, this timeline might be far from etched in stone, greatly depending on a number of logistical and, well, medical factors. 

Finally, while the Sprint brand burial could be sudden and immediate, everything that involves customer transfers will probably take place slowly and gradually to give everyone the chance to carefully consider all the cool deals and promotions that are undoubtedly in the pipeline.