From PC Mag: T-Mobile now has government approval for its planned purchase of the regional carrier UScellular’s wireless operations and 30% of its spectrum. The Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission didn’t require T-Mobile to make any binding promises about coverage or rate plans.
The DOJ delivered its okay first, announcing Thursday that its investigation into the $4.4 billion transaction, announced by the two companies in May 2024, found no need for the department to intervene.
In the announcement, antitrust assistant attorney general Gail Slater commended UScellular’s focus “on the unmet needs of customers whom they identified as ‘Heartland Families’ or ‘Farmtown Frugals,’” as well as the Chicago company's “strong emphasis on transparency, integrity, and localized customer service.”
But the DOJ concluded that what worked for UScellular in a 4G market could not in today’s 5G world: “[D]ue in part to its limited regional footprint and unique structural limitations, UScellular simply could not keep up with the escalating cost of capital investments in technology required to compete vigorously in the relevant market.”
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