CHICAGO-Wireless Alliance L.L.C., a joint venture of Aerial Communications Inc. and Rural Cellular Corp., won Federal Communications Commission approval to operate in portions of Aerial’s personal communications services spectrum.
Aerial submitted the application to the FCC asking to assign a geographic portion of its licensed PCS spectrum to Wireless Alliance.
The venture will construct networks in Duluth, Minn., Superior, Wis., and Fargo and Grand Forks, N.D., with commercial deployment expected late this year.
Customers will be able to purchase dual-mode, dual-band phones, which will allow them to use Wireless Alliance’s 1900 MHz Global System for Mobile communications network as well as Rural Cellular’s 800 MHz analog cellular network.
Don Warkentin, Aerial president and chief executive officer, said the arrangement will allow the company’s markets to be built out more quickly than originally expected.
“The Alliance will enable [us] to expand (our) coverage into new markets in which we do not hold cellular licenses,” said Richard Ekstrand, president and CEO of Rural Cellular.
“As a result, we expect to realize significant economies of scale by leveraging our sales and marketing organization and extensive infrastructure over a much larger base,” he said.
Rural Cellular holds 51 percent of Wireless Alliance and will be responsible for funding the construction of the joint venture, as well as managing, marketing and operating the network.
A subsidiary of Aerial obtained the remaining 49 percent of the venture in return for 20 megahertz of its 30 megahertz broadband spectrum in Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota.
