The big wireless merger you've never heard of

Verizon's $6.2 billion bid to buy wireless company TracFone has raised concerns that the deal could cut off access to affordable mobile phone service. The deal has flown under the radar, but TracFone is one of the nation's largest providers of subsidized cell phone service for low income people, an especially important program during the coronavirus pandemic — and one that Verizon hasn't traditionally focused on. The Justice Department declined to dig deeper into the deal in November, signaling that it didn't raise competition concerns. But the Federal Communications Commission must also approve the deal. Criticism has emerged from T-Mobile, Public Knowledge, and the Communications Workers of America. Several state attorneys general urged the FCC to thoroughly examine the merger, including its impact on Lifeline, a federal program that subsidizes phone or broadband service for low-income people.