T-Mobile announced on Tuesday the company agreed to buy UScellular’s wireless operations and nearly a third of its spectrum holdings for $4.4 billion.
T-Mobile will add more than 4 million customers to its postpaid phone footprint, which stood at 76.5 million as of the company’s first quarter earnings report. T-Mobile will also scoop up spectrum in the 24 gigahertz, 2.5 GHz, 600 and 700 MHz, AWS, and PCS bands.
There seems to be interest in rural areas…
UScellular will also hold on to its nearly 4,400 towers. As part of the deal, T-Mobile will enter 15-year lease agreements on at least 2,015 of those towers and extend leases on the 600 towers where the company is already a tenant.
Therivel said large national carriers expanding into rural areas, which make up nearly 40 percent of U.S. Cellular’s footprint, and the ballooning costs of 5G spectrum and network equipment presented barriers for the company.
“Large national players have expanded into rural America. That creates significant competition, where previously there might have been only a few players,” he said. “Delivering on our mission requires a level of scale that is best achieved by combining our wireless operations with a national player.”
UScellular customers will be able to stay on their current plan or switch to an unlimited T-Mobile plan with no switching costs, Therivel said.