FCC has issued a warning for T-Mobile.
T-Mobile’s plan to purchase UScellular’s spectrum assets and its retail and wireless operations is facing fresh opposition.
Some industry associations, advocacy groups, and a national labor union have requested the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to block UScellular’s acquisition by T-Mobile.
The Rural Wireless Association (RWA), EchoStar, the Communications Workers of America (CWA), Public Knowledge, New America’s Open Technology Institute, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, and the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) have allied to highlight the potential drawbacks of the deal.
T-Mobile and UScellular had previously argued that the proposed purchase would improve coverage in rural areas and boost competition. However, the alliance that has formed against the acquisition believes that it could be harmful on multiple levels.
The coalition has warned that the sale of Uscellular operations could harm rural connectivity.
At the moment, rural areas where telecom companies might not have a financial incentive to operate receive telecommunications services at reasonable rates due to collaborations between UScellular and the Universal Service Fund (USF) program.
