Trump Mobile – what is it and why Tariffs might be the biggest issue

Did you hear the news that the “Trump Organisation” has announced “Trump Mobile”? A new telco in the USA and at the same time teased the launch of an actual smartphone too – the Trump T1 Phone.

Sitting back here in Australia one can be forgiven for just having a laugh and wondering what it all really means. But given the impact the US President’s plans for Tarriffs are projected to have on all forms of technology including mobile phones, I thought it was worth taking a little look into all this.

The Mobile Plan from Trump Mobile.

Trump Mobile isn’t a new network, they aren’t building mobile towers. To put it in perspective for Aussies, this is like Woolworths Mobile, or Aldi Mobile, perhaps even Kogan Mobile – they are essentially reselling another existing mobile network – they are what’s known in the industry as MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operator)

But for Trump Mobile, it’s even more removed from the Telco itself.

You see Trump Mobile appears to be a white label version of an MVNO through another company called “Liberty Mobile Wireless”. It’s likely that T1 or Trump Mobile is geared up to licence the Trump Mobile brand to Liberty as the MVNO, which avoids Trump Mobile needing to be approved as an MVNO through the regulators, the FCC – a department controlled by the Trump Presidential administration – thus, avoiding a direct conflict of interest.

Trump Mobile will operate on the T-Mobile network across the United States, offering a strong coverage nationally.

Interestingly, T-Mobile is majority owned by German telco Deutsche Telekom – so Trump Mobile is operating on a German owned network, some portion of those $47.45 sales each month to customers will go to Germany – anyone asking the President how he feels about that?

All that said, it’s actually a fascinating new model for telco “bundling”, offering roadside assistance and Telehealth as part of the monthly plan. You’d have to hope that’s strong value, because $47.45 isn’t cheap – at all.

As Boost Mobile founder and now the man behind mobile startup Mobile X Peter Adderton pointed out:

Throwing more shade on the Trump team, Adderton added “Looked at my @mobileXus bill @EricTrump and guess what I can get 3 MobileX lines for $47 per month no Big Beautiful bill for me , consumers first…”

That $47.45 is vastly more than the average, with Adderton telling EFTM “the average Prepaid ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) is less than $28 and falling”, meaning it’s going to be a tough sell to the average American.

A “Made in USA” Smartphone – the Trump T1

So then there’s the phone itself.

This is the T1 (Gold Edition) Trump Phone:

It’s biggest claim to fame – “Made in the USA”.

We searched, there’s not a lot of other phones made in America. The one we found is from a company called Purism, and it’s the Liberty Phone.

For perspective, the company’s phone made in China is $800 – their Made in the USA phone is $2000. What does that tell you?

Trump is selling their phone for $499. That’s about the equivalent of a Google Pixel 9a or Motorola Edge 60 Fusion in Australia – between $700 and $800. Those are not cheap, nor are they poor quality phones.

What we see in the images and specs of the T1 phone look to be a simple Android phone. You could go to any number of factories in China and do a deal to make a phone like these specs for just a couple of hundred dollars, making the $499 a great profit.

But the reality is, this is “Made in the USA” or is it “Assembled” in the USA? that’s what will need to be uncovered if this thing ever becomes a reality.

They are taking pre orders with a $100 down payment, with the phone due out in September. Same time as the next iPhone.

Right now, I call the Trump Mobile T1 “Vaporware”. A product announced, never seen and unlikely to be seen.

If it does happen, I predict someone will rip it apart fast to find out just how “Made in the USA” it really is.

Likely it’s at best assembled in the USA, meaning all the components from the processor to the modem and the camera module will attract some serious Tariffs under the current administration.

Die hard supporters of Trump may love it, but it is unlikely to be any good compared to what else is on the market at the same or lower prices.

Set your calendars for the end of September, I’d say we’ll still be waiting.