T-Mobile, one of the largest wireless carriers in the United States, is in talks to acquire US Cellular after recently acquiring Mint Mobile for $1.3 billion. US Cellular has been looking for a potential buyer for some time. The Wall Street Journal reports that T-Mobile and Verizon are currently in talks to acquire various segments of the wireless carrier.

T-Mobile and Verizon are splitting the deal to prevent regulators from blocking it. If the deal goes through, T-Mobile will acquire a significant portion of US Cellular's assets, valued at approximately $2 billion. The remaining assets will be acquired by Verizon, but this will only happen once the deal is approved by US authorities. The approval process is aimed at ensuring that the acquisition does not affect competition in the market. T-Mobile and Verizon are the largest wireless providers with 117.9 million and 144.8 million subscribers, respectively.

The acquisition is seen as a strategic move to acquire more spectrum.
The US wireless carrier industry includes major players such as AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. On the other hand, smaller providers such as US Cellular typically serve areas not covered by these larger providers. As the value of US wireless licenses increases, this strategic move by T-Mobile and Verizon will give them access to more than 51 million spectrum licenses from US Cellular.

The acquisition of US Cellular will allow T-Mobile and Verizon to expand their subscriber base in these regions. According to Phone Arena, his 4,000 cell phone towers at US Cellular were not included in the deal and will remain in place. If the deal goes through, it would reduce the number of competitors in the U.S. wireless industry.

This reduction in competition could lead to increased scrutiny from authorities as customers have fewer choices. The Verge points out that T-Mobile's previous acquisition of Sprint was approved only after the carrier agreed to transform Dish into America's new major wireless carrier.