Wireless

Rural Wireless Association Flags Telecom Oligopoly Risk in AT&T Spectrum Win

The association criticized the bureau for clearing major consolidation efforts without a commission-level vote.

Akul Saxena

Dec 8, 2025 — 1 min read

Photo of Carri Bennet, outside general counsel for the Rural Wireless Association

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2025 — The Rural Wireless Association, a trade group for small carriers, pushed back against an FCC staff decision that approved AT&T’s purchase of UScellular spectrum, warning the move tightened control of key airwaves among the nation’s three largest carriers.

The FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau cleared AT&T’s acquisition of the Lower 700 MegaHertz (MHz) and 3.45 GigaHertz (GHz) licenses from Array Digital Infrastructure, UScellular’s successor entity, on Wednesday, Dec. 3.

RWA said in a Thursday filing that the bureau reused “flawed” competitive findings from an earlier T-Mobile–UScellular order now under review and failed to account for higher roaming costs and reduced access for rural providers.

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Wireless AT&T USCellular FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau 3.45 GHz 700 Mhz Array Digital Infrastructure T-Mobile–UScellular Carri Bennet RWA EchoStar–AT&T UScellular–Verizon