The last US carrier outside of the Big 3 is officially gone for good

T-Mobile struck a deal early last year to take over UScellular’s wireless customers, stores, and spectrum. The plan was to wrap things up by mid-2025. After a bit of a holdup, the $4.3 billion acquisition is now officially closed, giving T-Mobile a big boost in both network reach and customer base.

The deal’s completion comes shortly after the FCC gave the green light in July. Unlike most big telecom mergers, this one slid through without major pushback. T-Mobile is shelling out $2.6 billion in cash and taking on $1.7 billion of UScellular’s debt to grow its footprint, especially in rural markets, the company’s announcement states.

Through the deal, T-Mobile will bring 4 million UScellular customers onto its network. It’s also picking up the company’s retail stores and grabbing about 30% of its spectrum across a mix of bands, ranging from 600 MHz and 700 MHz A Block to PCS, AWS, 2.5 GHz, and 24 GHz mmWave.

In a post on X, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said the carrier is adding 3,000 new towers through the takeover.

No Plan changes (yet) for UScellular subscribers

Once the networks are fully merged, UScellular customers can choose to move to T-Mobile’s premium plans, with extras like international roaming, phone upgrades, and Netflix or Apple+ included. But there’s no pressure to switch, as existing plans and devices will keep working just fine on T-Mobile’s network. With the merger wrapped, former UScellular customers can also tap into T-Mobile’s home internet via its fixed wireless service.

T-Mobile previously said nothing is changing right away for UScellular customers, meaning they’ll stay on their current plans for the time being, just like what happened early on with the Sprint merger.

After selling off its wireless business to T-Mobile, UScellular is switching gears in a big way. Now rebranded as Array Digital Infrastructure, Inc., the company is shifting focus to managing 4,400 cell towers, the spectrum it kept, and other investments. It’s now aiming to carve out a strong role in the telecom infrastructure space.

Thanks: Moshe!