The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved Verizon's $1 billion acquisition of spectrum from the remains of UScellular.

Verizon is set to pick up AWS-3, AWS-1 (1.7/2.1 GHz), and PCS (1.9 GHz) licenses from Array Digital Infrastructure covering around 8% of the U.S. population.

Verizon first announced the transaction back in October 2024.

The FCC said it has approved the deal, noting that the threat to cause "competitive harm" is low.

“Given the current levels of spectrum attributed to rival service providers and the fact that additional spectrum will be auctioned off in the near future, we find it unlikely that the acquisition of spectrum by Verizon Wireless in this transaction would allow it to foreclose entry, raise rivals’ costs, or otherwise harm the public interest in the local markets at issue,” the FCC noted. "We also find that the transaction would result in certain public interest benefits, including enhancing Verizon Wireless’s network coverage, capacity, and performance, resulting in a stronger ability to meet increasing customer demand and provide a better customer experience."

The regulator previously approved AT&T's $1 billion acquisition of spectrum from Array, a deal which completed earlier this year.

Array Digital Infrastructure has pivoted away from being a regional wireless carrier in its UScellular era to a tower infrastructure company after selling a significant chunk of UScellular's operations for $4.4 billion to T-Mobile US, including its customer base and around 30% of the company's wireless spectrum.

The company is the fifth-largest U.S. tower business with around 4,450 towers. As a carrier, UScellular served around 4.5 million mobile customers.

Array Chairman Walter Carlson noted on an earnings call that the company could look at further monetizing remaining spectrum assets.