AT&T's takeover of Leap leaves US Cellular, other regional carriers with uncertain future

AT&T is poised to complete its acquisition of Cricket provider Leap Wireless and Leap's 4.57 million customers.

The transaction is the latest in a long line of consolidation in the wireless industry that has removed players ranging from MetroPCS to Clearwire to Alltel. But it's unclear what will happen next. The AT&T/Leap deal leaves US Cellular as the clear No. 5 US carrier.

However, there is a major gap between US Cellular and the Tier 1 carriers, and then between US Cellular and other, smaller players. US Cellular ended the fourth quarter with around 4.77 million total customers. Due to the spectrum sales, US Cellular is not an obvious acquisition target, especially because it has continued to bleed subscribers. US Cellular lost 71,000 postpaid customers and 26,000 prepaid subscribers in the fourth quarter, for total net losses of 97,000 customers. Morgan Stanley noted that marked the 15th straight quarter it lost postpaid subscribers. US Cellular's outlook is decidedly unclear.