The Un-carrier is celebrating its historic rollout in rural America, providing a platform for small-towns to showcase its community spirit and compete for a game-changing upgrade.
This coming football season, the competition won’t just be on the field. T-Mobile will transform Friday night lights forever for one deserving small town – just like it’s done for rural wireless service – with a grand prize football field technology makeover called T-Mobile Friday Night 5G Lights.
The competition, now underway, is open to the thousands of small towns across the country that live and breathe high school football.
T-Mobile is launching Friday Night 5G Lights to bring awareness to the massive investments the company’s made in rural America – nearly 500,000 square miles of new 5G coverage and hundreds of new stores – while celebrating the community spirit that makes small-town America so special.
Nothing brings that spirit out quite like high school football.
“Growing up in West Texas, I’m no stranger to Friday night lights. I’ve always loved how those bright stadium lights bring families together from all corners of the community to cheer on and support their beloved high school,” said Jon Freier, President, T-Mobile Consumer Group.
“It’s why I’m so excited to provide a platform to recognize and highlight small towns from all over the country.”
One of the towns that represents all that’s great about Friday night lights is Hickory, North Carolina, located an hour outside Charlotte and the proud recipient of a T-Mobile Hometown Grant.
The defending NCHSAA 3A champion Red Tornadoes represent a rich football tradition in Hickory that includes “The Untouchables,” the 1964 state champions that not only went undefeated but didn’t allow a single point all season.
It’s that history that inspired T-Mobile to connect four-time Super Bowl champion Rob ‘Gronk’ Gronkowski with the current Red Tornadoes squad to capture video footage and talk about small town football.
After serving as hype man for the team and local community and running routes, Gronk sat down with University of Alabama Quarterback Jalen Milroe and Hickory High School Quarterback Brady Stober to talk about what makes high school football in America so special.
“On Friday nights, all the things that divide us go away. On game day, we’re all just one team and one community with a unifying goal to leave everything on the field and be the best we can be,” said Gronk.
“We need a lot more Friday nights!”
Friday Night 5G Lights will culminate in an extraordinary $2m grand prize to upgrade one small town’s pride and joy: its high school football field.
The grand prize includes a $100,000 cash grant, a new teched-out scoreboard, 5G network upgrades, the ultimate tailgate party for the whole community, a 5G-powered halftime drone show and a special gift from Gronk: an upgraded weight room from GronkFitness.com.
The 16 finalists will each receive a $25,000 cash grant.
T-Mobile will choose the 16 finalists based on several factors, including compelling stories about why their high school needs the grand prize tech upgrade, potential impact on the school’s football field and how the school has shown school spirit during the application window through social engagement.
Ultimately, the school that can break through the noise, best show off its community spirit and passion and get community members to vote for their school on social media will emerge victorious.
Friday Night 5G Lights will unfold over the high school football season, with the finalists announced in early October and the winner revealed in early December.
After entering the contest – see details at www.FridayNight5GLights.com – each school/community will be given opportunities over the stretch of the entry period to showcase what makes them special.
“We love competition at T-Mobile. We brought it to rural America over three years ago, delivering our best, more expansive 5G wireless service, with extraordinary customer value, and all the perks the Un-carrier is famous for. Now, with Friday Night 5G Lights, we’re going to put these incredible communities under the bright lights and show the nation why they’re so special,” said Freier.
The playing field for Friday Night 5G Lights is wide open to high schools in US towns with a population of 150,000 or less.
To get in the game, school representatives (think administrators, teachers, coaches) can enter to get the ultimate tech makeover for their high school field.
All they have to do is share a story about why their town’s high school football field deserves an Un-carrier-style upgrade.
Once the 16 finalists are announced in early October, everyone in the country will be able to help pick the grand prize winner by voting for their favorite finalist town via Instagram – with entries ending September 20, 2024.
