Three Joint Petitions to Deny Requests from the Big Three to Carve Up and Acquire U.S. Cellular’s Spectrum Holdings

The Open Technology Institute at New America joined other public interest organizations to petition the Federal Communications Commission to deny a series of transactions involving the division of USCellular's spectrum holdings among the top three wireless providers. Applicants have not demonstrated that the transaction, as proposed, will not cause harm to the public interest. Nor have they shown that the transfer would provide any attributable, transaction-specific benefits to the public interest. This assignment of large amounts of spectrum, resulting in numerous holdings beyond the agency-established threshold, is anti-competitive, makes it harder for a fourth national wireless competitor to emerge, and will likely raise prices for consumers.

This combination of transactions poses significant risks to competition and consumers. Taken together, they are likely to cement the spectrum advantage of the largest providers, causing significant harm when taken collectively. Therefore, these transactions must be considered together, and the aggregate effects of each must be weighed together to ensure that the public interest is put before strategically piecemeal transactions. We also urge the Commission to consider imposing conditions on these proposed transactions that will serve the best interest, including a cellphone unlocking condition. Overall, the Commission must pursue the public interest in its decision, and accordingly must deny these and other applications that advantage the big three wireless providers at the expense of consumers and the competitive marketplace.