T-M
obile received the most government requests for subscriber data in 2014 according to a report from CNET. U.S. governments made nearly 351,940 requests for data from T-Mobile (TMUS) in 2014. The author, Roger Cheng states that the 351,940 government requests for data are the most out of any of the four national wireless carriers.
The number 4 U.S. carrier by subscriber base recently released its first transparency report. The article breaks down the government requests for T-Mobile information:
- 177,549 criminal and civil subpoenas
- 17,316 warrants
- 3,000+ wiretap orders
- Between 2,000 and 2,250 national security requests,
- 8 requests from foreign governments.
These numbers represent an 11% increase in government demands for subscriber information over last 2013.
The article claims that Verizon and AT&T each have twice as many customers, but T-Mobile fielded more requests than its rivals.
- Verizon (VZ) with 132 million subscribers in Q4 of 2014, saw 287,559 government requests.
- AT&T (T), with nearly 121 million subscribers in Q4 of 2014, saw 263,755 government requests,
- Sprint (S) with 55.5 million subscribers in Q4 of 2014, saw 308,937 government requests.
- T-Mobile with just over 55 million subscribers in Q4 of 2014, saw 351,940 government requests.
Here is how the four wireless carriers’ government information requests compare.
| Carrier | Subscribers | Supeanas | Warrants | WireTap Orders | Total Requests |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verizon | 132 million | 138,158` | 31,214 | 1,433 | 351,940 |
| AT&T | 121 million | 201,754 | 20,985 | 2,420 | 263,755 |
| Sprint | 55.5 million | 308,937 | 13,540 | 3,772 | 308,936 |
| T-Mobile | 55 million | 177,439 | 17,316 | 3,087 | 251,940 |
| Totals | 358.5 million | 826,288 | 83,055 | 10,712 | 1,176,571 |
Transparency reports have become increasingly popular over the past year as civil liberties groups, shareholder and consumer advocates have pressured companies to be more open about when they disclose customer information. The article claims T-Mobile was the last of the four national carriers to issue a transparency report, which comes amid continued scrutiny of surveillance programs run by U.S. three-letter agencies and friends— including the bulk collection of phone call data — that was revealed when former NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked classified government documents.
The author notes that companies aren’t under a legal obligation to show the data in transparency reports, but have been willing to share with the hope that the reports will help repair their reputations, which have been damaged by the Snowden revelations of the past two years.
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This data only represents data requests where they bothered to follow U.S. laws to legally request data. How much more is there sitting in a data warehouse in the sky?
Why is the T-Mobile number so high? Is it bad luck? Do they fight the requests the most? Are they playing ball with the TLA’s? We may never know. VentureBeat speculates that the best way to measure how willing T-Mobile works with the government is by looking at the percentage of government requests to which T-Mobile delivered data. But T-Mobile refused to offer that information to VentureBeat.
“Regarding the additional question on breaking out the numbers further than what’s currently provided in the report, our systems were not designed to track the kind of detailed reporting that other companies engage in today,” a T-Mobile spokesperson wrote to VentureBeat.
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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
