When T-Mobile collaborated with the City of Peachtree Corners in 2019, it marked a rare milestone: a major telecommunications leader partnering directly with a municipal government to create a real-world “living laboratory.”
Today, as Curiosity Lab celebrates its seven-year anniversary, T-Mobile’s membership continues to demonstrate the power of public-private partnerships. By combining T-Mobile’s 5G network capabilities with Peachtree Corners’ smart infrastructure, the telecommunications giant is helping transform how emerging transportation and smart city technologies are evaluated, validated and deployed. As a founding member, the telecommunications company has played a key role in the Lab’s success over the years.
For Tiana McNeil, a representative of T-Mobile, being embedded directly within Curiosity Lab offers a dynamic that traditional corporate offices cannot replicate. “Originally, when the partnership kicked off around 2019, there was a tremendous excitement around a private, large company like T-Mobile partnering with a public entity like the city of Peachtree Corners,” McNeil recalled. “Creating a public-private partnership and having access to this living laboratory sandbox environment is something a large, private company traditionally doesn’t have access to.”
Operating within an active 500-acre smart city environment allows T-Mobile to test 5G alongside real traffic, autonomous vehicles, and live municipal infrastructure. However, beyond the hardware, one of the biggest drivers of success is the surrounding community.
“My favorite part of being here at Curiosity Lab is the ecosystem of the partners,” she pointed out. “Being in a living, breathing space and being around early innovators as well as large corporate innovators gives you reach, synergies and creativity beyond your traditional sort of working environment.”
The collaborative spirit translates directly into real-world projects across the Lab, such as ongoing initiatives in intelligent transportation systems (ITS). “There are certain programs that with NXGO and intelligent transportation systems leveraging the sandbox environment we’ve got outside within the three-mile corridor and public roads,” McNeil explained. “It allows us to really plug in technology in a living environment and see and interact with it and then be able to build AI layers on top of it, which is really cool, especially in this new world of everything being AI.”
This environment requires flexibility, fast iteration, and adaptability. “A typical week here at the lab can be ever-changing,” McNeil said. “I wake up a lot of mornings thinking I know what my schedule is going to look like and it constantly is moving, and that’s the nature of being in an innovative, emerging tech environment.”
That momentum extends well beyond the Lab. T-Mobile continues to expand its reach across new frontiers. “Recently, we announced super broadband, our offering with our partnership with SpaceX and Starlink. And this gives us the ability to bring connectivity where there traditionally is none. So you’re thinking about really remote areas and places that have never had connectivity before now. It’s a really cool partnership.
When discussing why companies should establish a presence in Metro Atlanta, McNeil highlighted the region’s advantages. “I think the unique part here is the growing amount of tech companies that are coming to Atlanta, and obviously our airport is superior because of the ability to get flights in and out directly and the reach to the amount of cities you have, it just feels like it’s easy to get everywhere, it’s easy to get here.”
Visitor feedback consistently reinforces the Lab’s impact. “I love the feedback we get from anybody that visits,” McNeil said. “They are always impressed. They can’t believe the amount of ideas and solutions that are being deployed here. And specifically within T-Mobile, they always leave saying, ‘We had no idea T-Mobile did all of this cool stuff.”
This month, T-Mobile is partnering with the Technology Association of Georgia for a networking event with tech professionals from across the region, hosted at the Lab. The ample event space is just one of the amenities that makes gatherings like this possible.
For startups and enterprises considering joining the living laboratory as members, her advice is clear. “If you are considering becoming an occupant here, I would highly recommend it,” McNeil emphasized. “Our ecosystem and our environment and our culture here is more of a team effort. We all come close together even though the backgrounds may be different. Just the energy here in the building and being able to see what other folks are working on is an opportunity unlike any other.”
To learn more about T-Mobile’s 5G ecosystem, visit CuriosityLabPTC.com.