It’s an early Christmas present, of sorts, for Verizon: The Federal Communications Commission has officially approved the carrier’s acquisition of prepaid MVNO Tracfone, subject to a number of provisions designed to protect consumers.
Verizon announced in September of 2020 that it had struck a deal to pay up to $6.9 billion to buy Tracfone from Mexico’s América Móvil, expanding its focus on low-cost and prepaid services and saying that it will eventually offer 5G access to Tracfone customers.
Tracfone is the largest wireless reseller in the U.S. and serves more than 20 million subscribers, with more than half of those using Verizon’s network through an existing wholesale agreement.