The Justice Department won’t try to block T-Mobile‘s acquisition of U.S. Cellular, but the chief of the Antitrust Division is warning of industry concentration.
Gail Slater, assistant attorney general, said in a statement that the Antitrust Division “evaluated the likelihood of harm to competition and the potential effects of the transaction on consumers and determined that, on balance, the potential harm and offsetting benefits of the transaction do not warrant an enforcement action. UScellular’s inability to maintain its competitive position would result in declining value to its subscriber base, whereas the transaction offers them hope that they will be able to experience the benefits of a more robust cellular network.”
But Slater also warned of concentration in the industry, with three major players T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T.
“This transaction, and two other deals contingent on its closing, will consolidate yet more spectrum in the Big 3’s oligopoly, which controls more than 80 percent of the mobile wireless spectrum in the country,” she said. “The Department investigated these spectrum transfers and concluded that they would not result in sufficient harm to competition to warrant an enforcement action, yet the risks to future competition due to further spectrum aggregation by the Big 3 are acute.”
The $4.4 billion transaction was announced in May, 2024, with T-Mobile acquiring U.S. Cellular’s wireless operations, including customers, stores and spectrum.
T-Mobile is awaiting the FCC’s greenlight for the transaction. Earlier this week, the company informed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr that it was ending its diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Carr had previously said that he would seek to block mergers and major transactions of companies that have DEI policies, which he has claimed are “invidious” forms of discrimination.
