T-Mobile on Tuesday announced it plans to purchase UScellular’s wireless operations for $4.4 billion. The deal includes UScellular’s wireless customers, stores, and select cellular spectrum. The deal will add millions of UScellular customers to the T-Mobile network, improving the company’s connectivity in rural areas. T-Mobile also plans to use UScellular’s spectrum and wireless assets to expand its home broadband offerings.
UScellular customers will have the option to stay on their existing plans or move to an unlimited T-Mobile plan with no switching costs.
“With this deal T-Mobile can extend the superior Un-carrier value and experiences that we’re famous for to millions of UScellular customers and deliver them lower-priced, value-packed plans and better connectivity on our best-in-class nationwide 5G network,” said Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile. “As customers from both companies will get more coverage and more capacity from our combined footprint, our competitors will be forced to keep up – and even more consumers will benefit. The Un-carrier is all about shaking up wireless for the good of consumers and this deal is another way for us to continue doing even more of that.”
“T-Mobile’s purchase and integration of UScellular’s wireless operations will provide best-in-class connectivity to rural Americans through enhanced nationwide coverage and service offerings at more compelling price points,” said Laurent Therivel, CEO of UScellular. “The transaction provides our customers access to better coverage and speeds, as well as unlimited texting in more than 215 countries, content offers, device upgrades and other T-Mobile benefits.”
UScellular will retain ownership of some of its spectrum and its towers, with T-Mobile planning to lease space on approximately 2,000 towers.
T-Mobile will pay approximately $4.4 billion for the assets being acquired from UScellular in the transaction in a combination of cash and up to $2.0 billion of debt to be assumed by T-Mobile through an exchange offer to be made to certain UScellular debtholders before closing.
The deal is expected to close in mid-2025.
