T-Mobile’s Acquisition of US Cellular- Impact on Leases

Home / 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.

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T-Mobile will acquire all of US. Cellular’s subscribers.

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T-Mobile will acquire 30% of US Cellular spectrum-mainly that which is complimentary to its own spectrum.

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US Cellular will retain ownership of 100% of the approximately 4,400 towers. We expect this means they will likely sell their towers shortly. 

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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.

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    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
    Impact on Lease Holders

    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. 

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