Democratic Senators Raise Concerns Over T-Mobile's $4.4B US Cellular Deal

A number of Democratic senators are becoming concerned about T-Mobile's proposal to acquire much of US Cellular, prompting the group to seek the help of the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department to question the deal.

CNBC reports that the group wrote a letter to the two government agencies, highlighting that the deal between T-Mobile and US Cellular would limit customer choices and raise costs.

The deal was made public in May 2024. T-Mobile stated that the $4.4 billion deal would help improve its coverage in rural areas.

CNBC exclusively obtained the letter the senators wrote. They stated that the consolidation of T-Mobile and US Cellular would have "far-reaching effects," reducing choices for consumers and potentially leading to higher prices.

Two senators led the issuance of the letter: Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar. They were joined by Sens. Bernie Sanders, Chris Murphy, Cory Booker, and Richard Blumenthal.

Based on the deal, US Cellular would lease only 30% of its towers to T-Mobile, retaining 70% of its properties.

Both Warren and Klobuchar also expressed concern over T-Mobile's merger with Sprint. The deal with Sprint was also mentioned in Monday's letter, where Warren and her colleagues asked the Justice Department to unwind that merger.

The letter claims that the merger "eliminated a low-cost carrier from the market, reducing the competitive pressure on the remaining national wireless carriers to aggressively compete to lower their prices."

US Cellular's spokesperson reiterated a statement made when the deal was announced, emphasizing how the deal would "provide more competitive choices for US Cellular customers, as they will benefit from T-Mobile's greater resources and ability to provide lower prices, more robust plans, and a better network experience."

T-Mobile has not yet commented on the matter after CNBC reached out.