T-Mobile and EQT Complete Fiber Deal With Lumos
T-Mobile and EQT closed a deal to buy stakes in fiber-to-the-home provider Lumos, the companies said Tuesday. The launch of the joint venture follows the FCC’s approval of the underlying transaction last week (see 2503280023). T-Mobile is investing $950 million for a 50% stake in the joint venture, with plans for an additional $500 million investment in 2027-28. T-Mobile said when the deal was announced last April (see 2404250047) that it hoped it could be finalized in late 2024 or early 2025.
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“As part of the transaction, many Lumos customers will soon become T-Mobile Fiber customers and begin enjoying new offers and benefits,” T-Mobile said Tuesday. “The joint venture combines the Un-carrier’s unique assets with EQT’s fiber infrastructure expertise, and Lumos’ scalable build capabilities to drive rapid network expansion, with the goal of reaching 3.5 million homes by the end of 2028.”
Lumos currently operates a 7,500-mile fiber network serving 475,000 homes across the mid-Atlantic region. That’s up from 320,000 homes when the deal was announced. T-Mobile told the FCC in a Tuesday filing that it anticipates the affected Lumos subscribers will become T-Mobile customers “on or after” May 1.
T-Mobile appeared to offer the Trump administration concessions on getting rid of diversity, equity and inclusion programs ahead of approval (see 2503280038). A spokesperson clarified in an email that only some of the carrier’s DEI programs were affected. “Nothing is changing at T-Mobile as it relates to our values,” the spokesperson said: “We always review our programs to ensure they are well-aligned with our values and fully compliant with the law.”
“Partnering with EQT and T-Mobile, we’re ready to scale faster, deliver cutting-edge fiber technology to more people, and change even more lives,” said Lumos CEO Brian Stading. Nirav Shah, a partner on EQT’s Infrastructure Advisory team, added: “This joint venture represents a powerful combination of EQT’s digital infrastructure expertise, Lumos’ proven fiber deployment capabilities, and T-Mobile’s customer-first approach and national reach.”
Free State Foundation President Randolph May, meanwhile, blogged Monday that it’s time for the FCC to finalize approval of another transaction, T-Mobile’s $4.4 billion buy of wireless assets, including some spectrum, from UScellular. May noted that, based on the FCC’s website, the agency’s unofficial 180-day shot clock for reviewing the deal is in its final month.
The record “overwhelmingly indicates that consumers, including but not limited to current UScellular customers, would be better off if this deal were approved,” May said. “Tangible benefits identified and documented include faster 5G mobile broadband speeds, higher data capacity, and greater availability of fixed wireless access home broadband service, especially in rural areas,” he said. Potential harms “are unlikely given the robust competition that exists in the mobile broadband marketplace.”