T-Mobile US announced a customer agreement with Alaska Airlines, which wants to use its 5G network to optimise customer experiences.

Alaska Airlines will move the majority of its mobile data and voice business to T-Mobile’s network. The operator predicted 5G could improve the company’s performance in key customer service areas including ticketing, check-in, baggage handling and keeping flights on schedule.

In addition to mobile broadband, T-Mobile wants to provide Alaska Airlines with 5G services employing multi-access edge computing. This could enable the airline to quickly process and act on data collected from aircraft, baggage tags and ground crews to improve operational efficiency, the operator stated.

Roger Entner, founder of research company Recon Analytics, described the deal as “a big win for T-Mobile”, which historically has had a smaller enterprise business than AT&T and Verizon.