D.C. Memo: How Hard Will T-Mobile Compete Against Metronet/Vexus Fiber?
D.C. Memo: How Hard Will T-Mobile Compete Against Metronet/Vexus Fiber?
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T-Mobile-Metronet: How hard will T-Mobile's fixed wireless access (FWA) service compete with Metronet and Vexus Fiber? That's a delicate question the companies effectively sidestepped in a filing posted Friday on the FCC's website. The 59-page filing was an application for approval of the acquisition of Metronet/Vexus through a 50-50 joint venture between T-Mobile and asset managment giant KKR controlled by famed investors Henry Kravis and George Roberts. "Importantly, the proposed transaction will not eliminate any telecommunications service provider and therefore does not pose any threat of anticompetitive effects in connection with any telecommunications service," the filing said. They added, "The deal will not cause any diminution in competition." Indiana-based Metronet — which acquired Vexus in January 2022 — provides multi-gigabit Internet service to homes and businesses in 21 states. Meanwhile, T-Mobile, claiming to have the largest and fastest 5G network in the U.S., offers its FWA service Home Internet over the same 5G network to more than 50 million homes nationwide. T-Mobile is the leading FWA provider, adding 5.6 million subscribers since launching in 2021. "The proposed transaction will serve the public interest by preserving and enhancing [Metronet's] strengths without posing any threat of anticompetitive effects or other public interest harm, as well as being entirely transparent to consumers."
