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T-Mobile's US Cellular acquistion has been approved: What happened, and what's next?

T-Mobile's US Cellular acquistion has been approved: What happened, and what's next?

Joe Maring / Android Authority
TL;DR The DOJ and FCC have both approved T-Mobile's $4.4 billion acquisition of most of US Cellular, with no major conditions or safeguards imposed.
T-Mobile will gain US Cellular's customers, stores, and spectrum, while US Cellular will keep its towers and focus on leasing them out.
Critics worry the merger could reduce competition, especially in rural areas, but US Cellular customers shouldn't see immediate changes at least.
Last year, T-Mobile announced plans to acquire most of US Cellular in a $4.4 billion deal. As is typical with massive mergers, the deal required both DOJ and FCC approval. At the time, it was unclear whether such a proposal would actually be approved by either organization. After the election, the odds became much higher with the new administration. Fast forward to today — just last week, the DOJ signed off on the offer, and to little surprise, the FCC has now followed suit (via Fierce Wireless).
The FCC approved the transaction without a vote from the full commission (which is made up of two Republicans and one Democrat). While these kinds of offers often come with concessions — such as new unlocking policies or other limits — this particular approval didn't include any additional conditions and passed through without any real opposition from the FCC.
As part of the agreement, T-Mobile will pay $2.4 billion in cash and assume $2 billion in US Cellular debt. It will also acquire up to 4 million customers, all of US Cellular's retail stores, and its spectrum holdings in the 600MHz, 700MHz, 2.5 GHz, AWS, and PCS ranges. Verizon and AT&T will also be purchasing a portion of US Cellular's spectrum. However, US Cellular will still retain 4,400 towers and, instead of offering direct customer service, will focus on leasing these towers out to other companies.
As you can imagine, not everyone is thrilled about the approval of this deal. The RWA (Rural Wireless Association), in particular, is concerned that there are no conditions around roaming.
For those who don't know, US Cellular might be a regional carrier, but in certain parts of the US, it's literally the only choice. For example, I have family in Sidney, Iowa, and without roaming agreements, I'd have no coverage with the big three at all there. Thankfully, US Cellular has extensive roaming agreements in place that are beneficial to both the big carriers and smaller rural providers. While these agreements may remain in place under T-Mobile's stewardship, there's nothing written in stone to guarantee it.
'The FCC's decision takes T-Mobile's promises as gospel without any demand for accountability post-closing,' said Carri Bennet, RWA's outside general counsel. 'FCC staff's failure to impose meaningful safeguards is a dereliction of its duty to protect competition and consumers and safeguard the public interest.'
What happens next, and is this merger a good or bad thing?
I'll be honest, I'm fairly concerned about this merger as someone who lives in a rural area myself. While it won't affect me personally since I have decent coverage from multiple networks, that's not the case everywhere. Less competition is never a good thing. T-Mobile promised big things with Sprint, and while that acquisition certainly helped improve T-Mobile's network, we've also seen continued price increases and other moves from the carriers that suggest fewer players will always mean higher prices and less flexibility for customers.
Do you agree with the FCC's approval of the US Cellular deal?
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As for what happens next? T-Mobile and US Cellular must arrange to close on the transaction. The exact timeframe can vary, ranging from weeks to months or longer. Once complete, US Cellular won't just disappear as an option. T-Mobile previously clarified that US Cellular customers won't see any immediate changes and will be able to continue their plans as usual.
This is similar to how Sprint initially worked before it was eventually rolled into T-Mobile completely, but considering US Cellular's brand recognition in certain rural areas, it's entirely possible the carrier could live on as a value brand of sorts. That's just speculation on my part, though.
Really, the only thing I can say for sure is that US Cellular customers probably won't see any noticeable changes until late this year at the earliest. Beyond that, all we can do is watch and see how this unfolds.
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