T-Mobile's purchase of UScellular assets is delayed thanks to shorthanded FCC
The FCC currently has only two sitting commissioners including Chairman Brendan Carr and Anna M. Gomez. A quorum of at least three members is required before the FCC is allowed to resume normal operations. In case you're wondering the FCC is made up of five commissioners and no more than three can come from one political party. Each commissioner is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The commissioners are appointed to serve for a five-year term.
Since no mergers or acquisitions can be approved by the FCC without a quorum, Telephone and Data Systems, the company that is selling the UScellular assets, and T-Mobile , the buyer, are both unable to complete the transaction. T-Mobile is paying $2.4 billion in cash and will take over responsibility for $2 billion in UScellular debt. The deal also gives T-Mobile 30% of UScellular's spectrum assets including airwaves in the 600 MHz, 700 MHz A Block, PCS, AWS, 2.5 GHz, and 24 GHz (mmWave) frequencies. The latest thinking has the T-Mobile-UScellular deal closing in August or September. The delay was caused when Democrat Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and Republican Commissioner Nathan Simington both left their posts in June. This left the agency one commissioner short of the necessary quorum. The sale of USM's spectrum to AT&T and Verizon is also on hold until the FCC regains its quorum. That could take place on July 1st when Commissioner Olivia Trusty will start her term as an FCC commissioner. Trusty was approved by the Senate 53-45 on June 17th. Her presence on the FCC will give the Republicans a 2-1 advantage at the FCC.
Once the FCC does regain its quorum, the agency will be able to vote on whether to approve T-Mobile 's purchase of UScellular's assets and USM's sale of spectrum to AT&T and Verizon . Considering that T-Mobile received FCC approval for its $26 billion acquisition of Sprint during the first Trump administration, there shouldn't be an issue getting the UScellular transaction to close.
Switch to Total 5G+ Unlimited 3-Month plan or Total 5G Unlimited and get a free iPhone.
We may earn a commission if you make a purchase Check Out The Offer
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Phone Arena
23 minutes ago
- Phone Arena
Apple introduces AppleCare One, a new plan that simplifies protection across devices
Apple has launched AppleCare One, a new monthly plan designed to simplify device protection with multi-product coverage under a single subscription. Priced at $19.99 per month, the plan covers up to three Apple devices, with the option to add more for $5.99 per month per device. The new plan is available in the U.S. starting July 24, and users can enroll via iPhone, iPad, Mac, or at an Apple AppleCare+ plans that are tied to individual products, AppleCare One centralizes coverage for multiple devices, offering benefits such as unlimited accidental damage repairs, battery service, 24/7 support, and Apple-certified repairs. For the first time, theft and loss protection has been extended beyond the iPhone to include iPad and Apple Watch. Apple says this plan could save users up to $11 per month compared to separate AppleCare+ plans. The pricing remains the same no matter which devices are enrolled. This means users could include high-end models like an iPhone 16 Pro Max or an Apple Watch Ultra without paying extra. With AppleCare One, you can add already-owned eligible devices. | Image credit — Apple The standout change with AppleCare One is its ability to cover existing devices that are still in good condition. Customers can now enroll Apple products they already own, as long as they are under four years old. For headphones, the age limit is one year. Previously, AppleCare+ required users to sign up within 60 days of plan also adjusts automatically when devices are upgraded. If a user trades in a covered product through Apple, the new device replaces the old one in the plan. Customers can also swap products in or out of the plan whenever needed, which could benefit households with a mix of older and newer devices. AppleCare One is tied to the user's Apple ID, so family members with different accounts won't be able to share one plan. Theft and loss claims are also limited to three incidents per year across all devices, whereas individual AppleCare+ plans used to allow two claims per device. AppleCare One becomes available on July 24 in the U.S., with additional regions expected later. Signups can be completed on the Apple website or directly from supported Apple devices. I can see AppleCare One as a second-change benefit to Apple users who no longer have devices enrolled in an active AppleCare+ plan, or just never signed up for one in the first place. As people buy more Apple products, the ability to protect them all under one plan could make support more convenient and cost-effective. However, users with mainly lower-cost devices or accessories may find less value compared to standalone AppleCare+ options.
Phone Arena
3 hours ago
- Phone Arena
T-Mobile reports record-breaking Q2 earnings and the stock soars
For those thinking that the T-Mobile train is slowing, better guess again. The carrier just reported that it had 830,000 postpaid phone net customer additions during the second quarter. This financial category is considered the gold standard (dare I use the word) metric that Wall Street looks at to determine the underlying strength of wireless firms. It was a record-setting performance for T-Mobile as it added more postpaid phone net customers during any second quarter in T-Mobile 's history, and it led the industry as well. Postpaid net customer additions of 1.7 million were also a second quarter record for T-Mobile , and that performance also led the industry. T-Mobile reported 318,000 postpaid net account additions, up 6% year-over-year best in the industry. The report also mentioned that T-Mobile had 5G broadband net customer additions of 454,000. That was a 12% gain year-over-year and was, repeat after me, the best in the industry. Postpaid churn for the quarter was .90%, a slight improvement from the .91% reported for Q1. T-Mobile reported service revenue of $17.4 billion during the three months, which was up an industry best 6% on an annual basis. What drove the stock much higher after hours was the record net profits of $3.2 billion announced by the company, up a stunning 10% year-over-year. Diluted earnings per share, which assume the conversion of all convertible debt to equity, came in at $2.84. That is up 14% year-over-year and is a record for any second quarter in T-Mobile 's history. The carrier's CEO, Mike Sievert, said, " T-Mobile crushed our own growth records with the best-ever total postpaid and postpaid phone nets in a Q2 in our history. T-Mobile is now America's Best Network. When you combine that with the incredible value that we have always been famous for, it should surprise no one that customers are switching to the Un-carrier at a record pace. These durable advantages enabled us to once again translate customer growth into financial growth, with the industry's best service revenue growth by a wide mile and record Q2 Adjusted Free Cash Flow." T-Mobile also reported that it had 39,000 prepaid net customer additions during Q2. Those customers are a highly fickle group ready to follow the lowest pricing. That's why prepaid churn is typically higher than postpaid churn. For Q2, T-Mobile 's prepaid churn was 2.65%. The company said that for 2025, it expects postpaid net customer additions to be between 6.1 million and 6.4 million. That's an increase from previous guidance calling for 2025 to show an increase between 5.5 million to 6.0 million. This estimate includes a forecast of 2.95 million to 3.10 million postpaid phone net customer additions during 2025. These figures are another reason why the stock took off after the report was released. Speaking of the stock, after closing the regular trading session at $233.93, up 68 cents for the day, in after-hours trading, the shares soared $13.71 or 5.9% higher at $247.64.
Phone Arena
7 hours ago
- Phone Arena
Apple gives developers a new way to stop you from cancelling your subscriptions
Apple will allow developers to try and persuade users not to cancel their digital subscriptions. The company is expanding the In-App Purchase framework capabilities with tools for retention messaging. In simpler terms, developers will be able to make offers to any user who tries to cancel a subscription from the special menu inside the Settings app. The documentation for the so-called Retention Messaging API describes four ways for developers to prompt users not to cancel. The options are the following: A text-based message A text-based message with an image A switch-plan message, suggesting a different subscription tier A promotional-offer message with a discount That feature will make it easier for developers to try and fight for the continued subscriptions of their users. Whenever a user wants to cancel, they may be offered a free extension or to switch from a monthly to a cheaper annual subscription. The messages can be updated in real-time, because the API pulls the data from the developer's backend before showing the cancellation sheet to the user. However, the developers cannot change the user interface of the subscription screens beyond providing simple image, text, and button layouts. Apple's suggested cancellation screen | Image credit — Apple That way users will always have a prominent 'Cancel Subscription' button, as well as the 'Confirm Cancellation' and 'Don't Cancel' options, which are currently available. Apple's new API applies to the Apple In-App Purchase system subscriptions. They're listed system-wide on the Subscriptions page in the Settings app. Not all developers use that system, and many big companies prefer to avoid the system and the 30% cut Apple asks API is a pre-release feature, and developers must register their interest to use it. However, Apple will likely open this to all apps with subscriptions in the future. If there's a surprise in this announcement, it's that it took Apple so long to make such features available to developers. Retention offers are something many subscription-based businesses already use to keep their customers subscribed. Apple has always made it easy for users to cancel a subscription, so having an option to make them reconsider might be a welcome change for developers. Often those retention offers come with discounts, so that could be a welcome change for users, too. After all, cancelling a subscription means you already know the service, so keeping it around at a better price might be a better outcome than cancelling it altogether.
