The Birth of Wireless and Competitive Access: M|C Partners’ First Decade (1986–1995)

March 19, 2026

By Jim Wade

2026 is M|C Partners’ 40th anniversary. To celebrate, we’re publishing 4 special pieces throughout the year that commemorate each decade of business and its corresponding sector focus.

In 1982, I read in a trade journal about the first applications being filed for a new wireless license called cellular. At the time, I had just started working as part of the autonomous media/communications group at TA Associates, whose focus was on radio and cable. Given our independence and successful track record, this group spun off from TA Associates in 1986 to form M|C Partners.

The Early Days of Cellular: A License Land Grab and Trading Frenzy

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) initially awarded two cellular licenses per market. One license would go to the market’s incumbent local phone company (like Bell Atlantic or Ameritech) and the second license would go to a new competitor. In the 1982/83 licensing of the top 90 markets, M|C’s strategy was to apply and partner our institutional capital with the wireless experience of local paging companies. These applications were ultimately to go before the FCC for comparative hearings that would decide the final award. Unfortunately, 10 to 15 applications were filed in these initial markets, so the applicants decided it was better to settle among themselves for 1/10th or 1/15 of the market, rather than risk the long odds of winner-take-all comparative hearings. Thereafter, a grand game of monopoly ensued where entities traded or bought pieces of markets in order to gain control. M|C was involved in 11 applications, so without putting up any capital we made significant returns by selling our various shares of licenses to entities competing for control. 

Crowley Cellular and Bringing Big Market Talent to Small Market Opportunities

In 1987, M|C invested in Crowley Cellular, which served second tier markets between major cities, like Waco, Texas and Daytona Beach, Florida. M|C recruited an experienced and entrepreneurial team who had successfully built and operated one of the first major market cellular competitors in Chicago. At the closing dinner of the initial investment, the entrepreneurs, bankers and partners at M|C all wrote down what we thought the initial wireless penetration might be 5 years out. Guesses ranged from just 1.5% to 4% of the total U.S. population having cell phones! It seems crazy now with wireless penetration over 100%, but this was before handheld phones – when mobility meant installing a two-watt phone in your car with an exterior rear windshield antenna that many at the time considered ostentatious.

Crowley Cellular was one of M|C Fund I’s biggest wins. Importantly, this deal embodied a hallmark M|C success strategy: Identify management teams with experience and entrepreneurial flair in larger markets, and back them in smaller markets where their skills can disrupt local competition.

Triad Cellular and Betting Big on Rural, Powered by Roaming

In 1992, M|C formed a company called Triad Cellular, which served rural markets. At the time, most analysts weren’t sure that rural areas could sustain one cellular competitor much less two, due to lower traffic densities and income levels. M|C strongly believed that since rural people were more dispersed, they would ultimately have higher cellular penetration, because these individuals were more dependent on their cars without access to public transportation or the network of payphones in larger cities. In addition, rural carriers had the opportunity to charge roaming fees to out-of-market cellular subscribers visiting the state or driving on federal highways. Triad Cellular successfully proved our rural market thesis, which we subsequently deployed in later investments.

Brooks Fiber, and the Emergence of CAPs and CLECs

In 1994, M|C entered the nascent fiber industry by investing in Brooks Fiber. Founded by cable industry veterans, Brooks Fiber was one of the earliest competitive access providers (CAPs).

For context, back then long distance carriers (like AT&T, MCI and Sprint) paid ~$0.45 of every dollar collected in long distance revenue to local telephone companies (like regional Bell operators) for originating and terminating those calls. By building fiber networks in local markets, companies like Brooks Fiber could connect the long distance carriers directly to their largest enterprise customers, and reduce their fees by bypassing the local monopolies. Brooks Fiber was also able to use its local fiber network to connect multiple offices of large customers, completely bypassing the local telephone company. 

In 1996, Congress passed the Telecom Act, which forced the local monopolies to unbundle numerous parts of their networks and lease them to competitors on a cost basis. As a result, CAPs evolved into Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs), which offered a full range of telecom services, including local phone service to any business or residential customer. This was accomplished by installing sophisticated switches and extending fiber networks to most or all of the incumbent’s switching centers, thereby providing access to that carrier's last mile fiber or copper to any customer. Brooks Fiber helped lead the evolution from CAPs to CLECs by acquiring one of the first CLECs in Grand Rapids, Michigan. M|C subsequently partnered with the founder of that company to build two additional successful CLECs, Phone Michigan (Fund III) and Cavalier Telephone (Funds IV and V). 

MC was the largest investor in Brooks Fiber’s Series A, and the company went on to successfully IPO.

MetroPCS and Maintaining Price Discipline Through the Dot-Com Bust

In 1995, an entrepreneur from the paging industry named Roger Linquist founded MetroPCS to participate in the 1995/96 FCC auction of 30 Mhz of “PCS” spectrum. M|C met with Roger, but ultimately decided to back another entrepreneurial team in the auction under the name of Telecorp, led by Jerry Vento. The government was offering 90% financing to new competitors in this auction, so prices quickly spiraled as bidders started looking at their 10% equity requirements as cheap options for seemingly ever-increasing spectrum values. M|C and Telecorp maintained price discipline and pulled out as prices went over our limits. MetroPCS, however, was one of the largest successful bidders. Spectrum values tumbled after the auction, whereupon the winners gave back most or all of their spectrum or, like MetroPCS, went into a prolonged bankruptcy. During MetroPCS’s bankruptcy, M|C and Telecorp were successful in a subsequent spectrum auction, built out markets which included Puerto Rico, Atlanta and New Orleans, went public and sold to AT&T. 

When M|C was selling Telecorp, MetroPCS was coming out of bankruptcy with unencumbered spectrum. We led a $350M investment round in MetroPCS with a $75M commitment (our largest investment ever) to build out MetroPCS’s initial markets of Miami, Atlanta and San Francisco. M|C’s investment out of both Funds IV and V was particularly bold as it was made in November 2000. The Dot-Com Telecom bubble had burst 6 months earlier and many investors who had previously committed to MetroPCS had cut partially or completely back. 

Roger Linquist and MetroPCS offered a new wireless business model in their markets: unlimited airtime for a flat monthly price. Without a national network, this offering was attractive to a price-conscious, heavy, local user market segment like construction workers, real estate agents and others who lived, worked and played in their home market. M|C was active on the Board of MetroPCS through its IPO. MetroPCS ultimately sold to T-Mobile.

The Talented Entrepreneurs Behind M|C’s Early Successes

When I think about M|C’s early wins in wireless and fiber, the entrepreneurs behind the wins stand out – in part because they helped us solidify another core M|C principle: Nurture your network and lean on known, experienced leaders to build new ventures.

I remember working with a young Rob Shanahan to build the New England region for Brooks Fiber. Years later, M|C recruited him to build Lightower, one of our biggest successes in the fiber industry.

Brad Evans is another repeat M|C entrepreneur. In 1997, Brooks Fiber bought the company Brad was running. Soon after, Brad started Phone Michigan and M|C became his sole investor. After the successful sale of Phone Michigan, Brad started Cavalier Telephone, with M|C again as the sole investor. CLEC entrepreneurs Brad Evans, Rob Shanahan and Mike Gallagher (of Florida Digital Networks) and I still get together once a year to play golf.  

George Crowley, John Fuji and Brian McTernan from Crowley Cellular, and Barry Lewis and Craig Viehweg from Triad Cellular were all instrumental to our mutual wireless successes. M|C has since worked with John, Barry and Craig on several subsequent deals. They’ve been invaluable industry connectors and hands-on guides to our current portfolio company CEOs.

The Spiderweb Effect of Early Industry Expertise

In the 1980s, no one could fathom how transformative wireless would be. M|C got in so early, which forced us to be thoughtful in our thesis evolution. We never backed the same kind of company twice; we invested in a variety of companies that served a variety of markets. This demonstrates M|C’s commitment to trying new things, gathering data and iterating accordingly.

When you’re an industry expert, there’s a spiderweb that continually grows. This web allows you to repeatedly identify winning strategies based on real, historical knowledge and hardwon connections. I’m immensely proud of M|C’s part in helping forge the wireless and CAP industries, and grateful to the talented entrepreneurs who helped us.