FCC criticised for coddling T-Mobile and endangering rural dynamics
Unlike AT&T, T-Mobile , and Verizon, which are national carriers with nationwide coverage, UScellular is a regional telecom company with a focus on rural areas. T-Mobile is buying most of its operations for $4.3 billion, and the deal will bring over four million new customers. UScellular decided to sell itself because it was ill-equipped to meet the evolving needs of its customers, who were increasingly ditching it. The company was still important for other reasons, including providing employment in the 21 states it served and keeping competition afloat.
The Rural Wireless Association (RWA) had requested that the FCC ask T-Mobile to honor the roaming arrangements UScellular had with rural companies, as highlighted by Fierce Wireless . The RWA is a trade association that represents rural carriers who each serve fewer than two million customers.
—FCC, July 2025 The RWA feared that the transaction would otherwise harm both rural customers and rural carriers if T-Mobile insisted on unfavorable roaming agreements with them.The RWA's requests were denied, with the FCC reassuring the coalition that its dispute resolution framework would ensure that any roaming agreements were reasonable.Purchasing roaming services from another carrier allows mobile wireless providers to ensure their subscribers aren't left without connectivity in areas where they don't provide service. Roaming agreements let carriers use the facilities of other companies to provide service to their customers when they travel outside of their service area.
The RWA has criticized the FCC for rubber-stamping the deal, claiming it gave in to the demands of T-Mobile and UScellular. The FCC was seemingly only interested in using the deal approval as a lever to get T-Mobile to scrap its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program, which it dutifully did. UScellular typically signed reciprocal roaming agreements with rural companies, meaning both sides paid each other when their respective customers roamed onto each other's networks.
T-Mobile , on the other hand, usually inks unilateral roaming agreements. This means that while customers of a rural carrier can use T-Mobile 's network, T-Mobile prefers not to provide service in an area with no terrestrial presence, instead of letting its subscribers access rural networks.
—Carri Bennet, RWA's outside general counsel, July 2025 This represents lost roaming revenue for rural companies, and it might be enough to threaten their survival.
When it greenlit T-Mobile 's purchase of UScellular, the FCC had said that rural providers who find it difficult to reach reasonable roaming deals with T-Mobile could file a complaint. This is often futile and leads nowhere.
Analyst Roger Entner of Recon Analytics has suggested that the issue might be getting blown out of proportion. He said that rural carriers usually have reciprocal roaming agreements with at least one of the three major carriers, and UScellular was never an important part of the equation.
—Roger Entner, principal of Recon Analytics, July 2025 Moreover, rural carriers aren't necessarily here for the long haul, and most will be glad to cash out when convenient.
Another threat looming over roaming agreements with rural carriers is satellite service. T-Mobile 's Starlink-powered T-Satellite program will officially launch on July 23 and leave even fewer reasons for T-Mobile to enter into deals with rural carriers.
If T-Mobile completely ices out rural carriers, it will further harm competition and might wipe them out. This will pave the way for T-Mobile to get its hands on even more spectrum.
The DoJ had expressed concerns about spectrum aggregation when it decided not to stop T-Mobile from scooping up UScellular. The FCC, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have an issue with this, so regardless of RWA's objections, T-Mobile is only going to continue becoming more powerful now. However, if it means better service for rural areas, that might not matter much, at least in the short run.
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