Recent Mergers & Acquisitions In The Telecommunications Industry – September 1, 2021
Mergers & Acquisitions: Boost Mobile Acquiring Prepaid Mobile Service Provider Gen Mobile
September 1, 2021 – Low cost wireless provider Boost Mobile has announced it is acquiring prepaid mobile service provider Gen Mobile. Under the transaction, Boost will acquire the Gen Mobile brand, customer base, existing distribution network, technology, and wireless team. As explained in the press release, the deal is part of Boost’s overall business strategy:
Earlier this year, Boost Mobile announced its participation in the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program which helps make broadband access more affordable for Americans. Through increased distribution in underrepresented communities, Gen Mobile will be integral in Boost's efforts to close the digital divide. Gen Mobile will continue to sell its low-cost wireless plans starting at just $10 – with other cost-efficient plans to come – and will also accelerate its EBB and Lifeline growth.
The purchase price was not disclosed. Gen Mobile will remain headquartered in Los Angeles and the leadership will remain intact. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Boost Mobile is a subsidiary of Dish Network, which purchased Boost in July 2020 as part of T-Mobile’s merger with Sprint.
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Mergers & Acquisitions: Comporium Purchasing Chesnee Telephone From SkyLine Membership Corporation
September 1, 2021 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau is seeking comment on a Section 214 application to transfer control of Chesnee Telephone Company from Skyline Telephone Membership Corporation d/b/a SkyLine Membership Corporation to Comporium, Inc. Comments are due or before September 15, 2021, and reply comments are due September 22, 2021.
Chesnee Telephone is a South Carolina incumbent local exchange carrier (LEC) serving approximately 1,737 access lines in Spartanburg and Cherokee counties in northwestern South Carolina. Chesnee Cable, a wholly owned subsidiary of Chesnee Telephone, provides interexchange services to Chesnee Telephone customers, and also provides cable TV services and broadband services. Chesnee Telephone holds a domestic 214 authorization, and Chesnee Cable holds an International 214 authorization. SkyLine Membership Corporation is North Carolina corporation and telecommunications provider in Tennessee and North Carolina that owns 100% of Chesnee Telephone.
Comporium, a South Carolina corporation, and its affiliates, provides service as an
incumbent LEC to approximately 84,000 access lines in 32 exchanges in South Carolina and North Carolina. Pursuant to the terms of the proposed transaction, Comporium will purchase 100% of Chesnee Telephone from SkyLine, resulting in complete control of Chesnee Telephone and its wholly owned subsidiary, Chesnee Cable.
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Mergers & Acquisitions: Poka Lambro Buying Vexus Fiber
August 27, 2021 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau is seeking comment on a Section 214 application filed by NTS Communications, LLC d/b/a Vexus Fiber and Poka Lambro Telecommunications, Ltd. requesting consent to transfer certain assets of Vexus Fiber to Poka Lambro. Comments are due on or before September 10, 2021, and reply comments are due September 17, 2021.
Vexus Fiber provides competitive telecommunications services and other services in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Arizona. It is registered as a competitive local exchange carrier (LEC) in Texas and Louisiana and has been designated as an eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) in Texas. Vexus Fiber provides Lifeline services as well as interstate telecommunications services to customers over fiber facilities in the west Texas communities of Brownfield, Lamesa, Ropesville, Wilson, and Meadow.
Poka Lambro is a wholly owned subsidiary of Poka Lambro Telephone Cooperative, Inc., a Texas cooperative and incumbent LEC. Poka Lambro provides telecommunications services and other services as a competitive LEC in Post, Tahoka, and Seagraves, Texas. Pursuant to the transaction, Poka Lambro will acquire substantially all of Vexus’ fiber facility assets and Vexus’ customers. Following consummation of the deal, Poka Lambro will provide competitive local exchange and long-distance services to West Texas customers on substantially the same terms and conditions as previously provided by Vexus Fiber.
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Mergers & Acquisitions: Grande Communications To Acquire Harris Broadband
July 19, 2021 – Grande Communications has announced it will acquire Harris Broadband, L.P., a communications services provider in Central Texas. Harris Broadband describes itself as “a next generation telecommunications service provider utilizing the latest in Fiber to the Home (FTTH) fiber optic transmission technology to deliver video, high speed internet and voice services to its customers.” Grande, a subsidiary of Astound Broadband, the sixth largest cable operator in the U.S., currently serves following areas in Texas: Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Houston, Midland, Odessa, San Antonio, San Marcos, Greater Temple area, and Waco. When the deal closes, sometime in the second half of 2021, it “will add over 6,000 customers, 12,500 homes passed and 150 miles of fiber plant to Grande’s operations in Texas.”
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Mergers & Acquisitions: Securus Technologies Purchasing Preferred Communications of Texas From Embarq
July 6, 2021 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau is seeking comment on a Section 214 application filed by Embarq Corporation (Embarq) and Securus Technologies, LLC (Securus), requesting consent to transfer control of Preferred Communications of Texas, LLC (Preferred) from Embarq to Securus. Comments are due on or before July 20, 2021, and reply comments are due July 27, 2021.
Preferred, a Delaware limited liability company, is a wholly-owned, direct subsidiary of Embarq, and holds blanket domestic Section 214 authority from the FCC. Preferred’s sole asset is the contract to provide “customer account creation and maintenance services related to inmate calling” to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). Preferred is currently the primary contractor and Securus is the subcontractor providing call routing, security, software, and other services necessary to fulfill the TDCJ contract. Embarq formed Preferred last year to hold the TDCJ contract. With the transfer of Preferred, Embarq would completely exit the inmate calling services market. Embarq is a wholly-owned, direct subsidiary of Lumen Technologies, Inc.
Securus is a Delaware limited liability company with its principal place of business in Carrollton, Texas. Securus is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aventiv Technologies, LLC. The ultimate majority ownership of Securus is Platinum Equity Capital Partners, IV, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, which is a private equity investment vehicle sponsored by Platinum Equity, LLC. Securus provides a host of services and products to incarcerated individuals, including inmate calling services, in the District of Columbia and 47 states.
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Mergers & Acquisitions: ITC Broadband Holdings Acquiring USConnect Holdings
June 24, 2021 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau is seeking comment on a Section 214 application filed by USConnect Holdings, Inc. (and its direct and indirect subsidiaries) and ITC Broadband Holdings, LLC requesting authority to transfer control of USConnect Holdings to ITC. Comments are due on or before July 8, 2021, and reply comments are due July 15, 2021.
USConnect is a Delaware holding company that does not provide any services. Through its direct and indirect wholly-owned rural incumbent local exchange carriers and subsidiaries, USConnect Holdings provides video, broadband internet access, telecommunications and interconnected VoIP services in Texas, Georgia, Kansas, Colorado, and Nebraska. USConnect’s direct and indirect subsidiaries include the following: USConnect Services Co., Inc.; USConnect Acquisitions II, Inc.; USConnect Acquisitions III, Inc.; USConnect Acquisitions IV, Inc.; USConnect Acquisitions V, LLC dba CMS IP Technologies; The Livingston Telephone Company; Telcom Supply, Inc.; Waverly Hall Communications, Inc.; Waverly Hall Telephone, LLC; S&A Communications, Inc.; S&A Telephone Company, Inc.; Mid-South Cellular, Inc.; Corona Holdings, Inc.; South Park, LLC d/b/a South Park Telephone Company; The Rye Telephone Company; CableCo, LLC; Dalton Telephone Company, Inc.; Newcastle Holdings, Inc.; Dalton Telecommunications, Inc.; and Elsie Communications, Inc.
ITC Broadband Holdings is a Delaware holding company corporation that primarily invests in companies providing communications services, and is in the process of building its business. Neither ITC nor any of its direct and indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries hold any FCC authorizations or provide any telecommunications services.
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Mergers & Acquisitions: FCC Grants Transfer Of Cincinnati Bell & Hawaiian Telcom To Red Fiber
May 26, 2021 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau, International Bureau, and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau have granted applications to transfer FCC licenses and authorizations held by Cincinnati Bell Inc., CBTS Technology Solutions LLC, Cincinnati Bell Telephone Company LLC, Cincinnati Bell Extended Territories LLC, Hawaiian Telcom, Inc., Hawaiian Telcom Services Company, Inc., and Wavecom Solutions Corporation to Red Fiber Parent LLC. The Bureaus gave Red Fiber Parent permission for a foreign investment level above the 25% benchmarks in Section 310(b)(4) of the Communications Act and Section 1.5000(a)(1) of the FCC’s rules. Cincinnati Bell was a winning bidder in the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I Auction. The Bureaus conditionally granted Cincinnati Bell a waiver of Section 54.804(b)(6)(iv) of the FCC’s rules, which prohibits major modifications to a post-auction long-form application.
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Mergers & Acquisitions: Zayo Holdings Purchasing Indiana Fiber Network
April 9, 2021 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau is seeking comment on a Section 214 application filed by Indiana Fiber Network, LLC d/b/a Intelligent Fiber Network and Zayo Group Holdings, Inc. requesting consent to transfer direct control of Indiana Fiber Network to Zayo. Comments are due on or before April 23, 2021, and reply comments are due April 30, 2021. Indiana Fiber Network is an Indiana LLC that provides competitive fiber-based services in Indiana and between Indiana and points in Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. Zayo Holdings is a Delaware privately-held corporation that wholly owns U.S.-based operating subsidiaries that are authorized to provide competitive local exchange carrier and other services in the District of Columbia and every state except Alaska.
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