Consumer Advocates to FCC: Deny T-Mobile’s Acquisition of UScellular
The $4.4 billion deal includes 4 million customers, 30% of UScellular’s spectrum, and more than 2,000 towers.
Jericho Casper
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2025 – A coalition of consumer advocacy and labor groups has urged the Federal Communications Commission to reject T-Mobile’s proposed acquisition of UScellular, arguing that the deal is anti-competitive and will harm consumers, workers, and the broader wireless market.
In a filing submitted on Jan. 28, Public Knowledge and other groups called on the FCC to block the deal, stating that it does not meet the public interest standard required for regulatory approval.
The deal, valued at $4.4 billion, includes UScellular's customer base of 4 million users, approximately 30% of its spectrum assets, and rights to more than 2,000 towers.
“The transaction as proposed will harm the public interest,” the groups argue, which also include the Communications Workers of America, New America’s Open Technology Institute, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, Access Humboldt, and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.
“It will result in the loss of the fifth largest marketplace competitor, make it nearly impossible for a fourth competitor to emerge in the market, and harm competition in labor markets,” the filing states.
They argued that the merger would remove a key regional carrier, further cementing the dominance of the three remaining national providers — T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon.
“Any transaction that involves the transfer of control of a wireless carrier that holds licenses in an area that covers nearly one-tenth of the country’s population is contrary to the Commission’s ‘deeply rooted preference for preserving and enhancing competition in relevant markets,’” the filing states.
CWA’s opposition to the deal focuses on its potential impact on workers, arguing that it would reduce job opportunities in the wireless sector. The union asserts that competition in labor markets was just as important as competition in consumer markets.
While the coalition strongly opposed the transaction, it also suggested that strict consumer protections should be imposed if the FCC allows it to proceed. These included: Handset unlocking requirements to ensure customers have the freedom to switch carriers; no layoffs of T-Mobile or UScellular employees as a result of the merger; protections against wage cuts and forced arbitration; and neutrality in union organizing.
T-Mobile has a history of merger-related commitments, as seen in its 2020 acquisition of Sprint, where it agreed to maintain jobs and expand its network.
The FCC could decide to block the deal, approve it with conditions, or move it to a more in-depth review process. Industry experts have said the deal was likely to receive regulatory approval. And, if approved, the most likely condition would be a jobs commitment.