A T-Mobile, UScellular combo may tilt mobile competition for Dish and cable companies

The US Department of Justice blessed T-Mobile's proposed acquisition of UScellular, holding that the combination won't do enough harm to competition to "warrant an enforcement action." But the DoJ still expressed concerns about how the mobile market could be negatively affected by additional consolidation. The DoJ also claims UScellular would have trouble going it alone. Per the statement from Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater, "UScellular simply could not keep up with the escalating cost of capital investments in technology required to compete vigorously in the relevant market. This would, in turn, lead to the slow degradation of its network quality." The DoJ's language in its opinion could have ramifications for EchoStar's future as the nation's fourth mobile carrier and to US cable's standing as a viable competitor to the Big Three.