The Rural Wireless Association (RWA) today criticized the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Wireless Telecommunications Bureau’s approval earlier this week of AT&T’s acquisition of spectrum licenses from Array Digital Infrastructure (known as UScellular at the time of the deal).
The $101.8 billion deal, which was announced in early November 2024, is part of Array Digital Infrastructure’s effort to divest itself of licenses that were not included in the company’s acquisition by T-Mobile. The licenses are in the lower 700 MHz and 3.45 GHz ranges. T-Mobile had agreed to purchase UScellular’s operations and some of its licenses early in May 2024.
The FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau portrayed the deal as posing little risk and agreed that a significant upside potential exists.
“Based on our review of the record and our competitive analysis, we conclude that the risk of public interest harm is low. We find it unlikely that the proposed acquisition of 700 MHz and 3.45 GHz spectrum would allow AT&T to foreclose entry, raise rivals’ costs, or otherwise harm the public interest,” the decision reads.
“In addition, we substantially credit the Applicants’ claims that the instant transaction will produce public interest benefits including the provision of additional products and services to AT&T’s customers, faster customer speeds, and a better overall customer experience.”
The RWA released a statement criticizing the FCC decision about the AT&T/Array Digital Infrastructure deal.
RWA objected to what it called the concentration of spectrum control among three carriers.
“The FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau erroneously claims that the transaction poses no competitive harm and, instead, benefits the wireless marketplace. Much of the Order approving the transaction relies on the same flawed competitive analysis from the earlier T-Mobile-UScellular Order that is currently under review. The Commission dismisses without adequate rationale several direct harms to rural wireless carriers that will result from the transaction, including increased rates and difficulties with roaming. “
RWA also said the results likely will be dire and criticized the process.
“These two staff level decisions along with an expected decision allowing Verizon to acquire UScellular spectrum collectively amount to the death of mobile wireless competition,” RWA outside counsel Carri Bennet said in the statement about the FCC’s AT&T decision.
“Consumers can expect to see higher prices as the oligopoly continues to act in conscious parallelism to raise prices and copy offerings, leading to a three-way split of the market that kills off any incentive for innovation.”
