T-Mobile’s Acquisition of US Cellular- Impact on Leases
T-Mobile announced on May 28th, 2024, that it will acquire a substantial part of US Cellular. While the merger still has to be approved by the department of justice and FCC, here’s what it will look like once approved. Please see below for some statistics about the potential merger and our thoughts on potential impacts on landowner and leaseholders from the merger if consumated.
T-Mobile will acquire all of US. Cellular’s subscribers.
T-Mobile will acquire 30% of US Cellular spectrum-mainly that which is complimentary to its own spectrum.
US Cellular will retain ownership of 100% of the approximately 4,400 towers. We expect this means they will likely sell their towers shortly.
T-Mobile will agree to sign a 15-year master lease agreement to continue using space on 2,600 towers – 60% of total US Cellular owned towers.
US Cellular Tower & Cell Site Numbers
| Table Header | |
|---|---|
|
US Cellular Owned Towers |
4,400 |
|
Number of total us cellular cell sites |
7,200 |
|
Number of current tMO Leases on USC Towers |
600 |
|
Minimum Number of USC Sites that T-Mobile will keep |
2,015 |
Impact on Tower Owners
- US Cellular will no longer be collocating on other towers.
- USC will likely sell its tower portfolio soon.
- T-Mobile may reduce new cell site builds in areas where it acquired the US Cellular sites.
- Towers with USC and TMO will have one of those leases terminated.
Impact on Lease Holders
- Leases under US Cellular Towers with only USC may be terminated in the next few years.
- Sites with US Cellular and T-Mobile leases will have one lease terminated.
- US Cellular towers with other carriers collocated on the tower are safe.
- Cell Tower Lease Buyout values of USC leases will drop.
If you need help figuring out what to do regarding a US Cellular or T-Mobile lease, please contact us.
We have assisted landowners with many previous mergers. (AT&T/Cingular, T-Mobile/Sprint/Nextel, Verizon/Alltel). We have seen the carrier “playbook” and how they attempt to use these mergers to convince landowners to renegotiate their leases. Rarely are these renegotiations beneficial for the landowner.
Before you accept a proposal or sign an amendment or estoppel, do yourself a favor and call us. The initial discussion is free, and we will not charge you a dime unless we feel confident that we can help your situation.