DOJ Asks FCC to Pause T-Mobile, UScellular Transaction

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2024 – The Justice Department has requested that a proposed transaction between T-Mobile and the nation’s fourth largest wireless carrier be paused pending assessment by law enforcement officials for possible foreign security risks.

The Justice Department asserted in a Tuesday filing with the Federal Communications Commission that the transaction should be paused while the agency assesses the proposed merger between T-Mobile and UScellular for foreign participation that could harm the telecom industry or pose national security risks.

T-Mobile proposed the acquisition on Sep. 13. The company is led by CEO Mike Sievert.

T-Mobile is majority owned by Deutsche Telekom, a German telecommunications company based in Bonn serving more than 22 million broadband subscribers in multiple countries.

The $4.4 billion deal would see T-Mobile, already the nation’s largest provider of 5G internet, acquire four million UScellular customers and about a third of its spectrum.