Ownership

Consumer advocates want the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to impose a phone unlocking condition on T-Mobile’s proposed acquisition of Mint Mobile, the operator made famous by part owner Ryan Reynolds. T-Mobile struck an agreement in 2023 with Ka’ena Corporation to acquire Mint Mobile and its affiliate brands, Ultra Mobile and Plum, for up to $1.35 billion.

It’s been over a year since AT&T and investment firm Blackrock established their Gigapower joint venture to build open access fiber networks and set a goal of reaching 1.5 million locations within 18 months. Until now, the company has made relatively few moves on that front.

Consolidated Communications is one step closer to taking its company private, as shareholders approved the proposed $3.1 billion acquisition by Searchlight Capital Partners and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI). Approximately 75% of Consolidated’s shareholders voted yes on the private equity deal, which is expected to close by the first quarter of 2025.

Rural Telecommunications of America (RTA) announced continued expansion in the Midland-Odessa (TX) area with its recent acquisition of Blue Ridge Fiber. RTA continues to grow its network across America’s rural communities. RTA will immediately begin enhancing the infrastructure and will bring gigabit fiber services to the communities in and around the Greenwood neighborhoods.

The Federal Communications Commission adopted a proposal to advance its longstanding policy goal of supporting local journalism and broadcasters’ commitment to meet the needs and interests of local communities.

AccessParks—which provides broadband connectivity to RV parks, national and state parks, and manufactured housing communities—received additional funding from M/C Partners, a private equity firm focused on the digital infrastructure and technology services sectors. The amount of the investment was not disclosed, but was described as “significant.” AccessParks’ campground division provides outdoor connectivity using fiber-optic, microwave, 5G, and Wi-Fi services.

A new report saying billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong has sunk hundreds of millions of his own money into an unprofitable Los Angeles Times underscores how desperate the news industry is to chart a plan for survival in the digital era. If billionaire owners can't make the L.A. Times or the Washington Post profitable, then the news industry has to ask itself: What can?

Apple's new App Store payment policies are stirring outrage among software developers who say the iPhone maker is skirting the intention of a court ruling. Apple will require developers to pay it a 27% commission if they use an alternative payment method, much like the company did in the Netherlands and South Korea in response to legal rulings over related issues in those countries. With this change, Apple is effectively saying “we refuse to back down,” said Fiona Scott Morton, a former antitrust official in the Obama administration.

After years of operational cuts and consumer price increases, Altice USA, under the direction of recently appointed CEO Dennis Mathew, has instituted fairly massive price decreases across its fiber-to-the-home and cable broadband product lines. According to Analyst Craig Moffett, the cable operator, which touts around 4.6 million broadband customers, is trying to undo the aftereffects of the “Altice Way,” the strategy of increasing EBITDA through cost cuts and price increases, which proliferated amid the aggressive expansion set forth by French-Israeli cable titan Patrick Drahi a decade ago

After closing on his re-merger of Dish Network and EchoStar, Chairman Charlie Ergen outlined a series of strategic asset shifts that shield certain spectrum assets, as well as the cash generated by about three million Dish pay-TV subscribers, from existing creditors. The moves “further unlock incremental strategic, financial and operating flexibility for its business following completion of its merger” with Dish Network.