WALL, N.J.-Centennial Communications Corp. said it has exercised an option to purchase PCS spectrum from AT&T Wireless Services Inc. covering 4.1 million potential customers in Michigan and Indiana for $19.5 million. The 10-megahertz licenses cover Anderson, Indianapolis, Lafayette and Muncie, Ind., as well as Lansing, Grand Rapids, Muskegan and Saginaw-Bay City, Mich., and are contiguous to Centennial’s current operations.
Centennial also announced it has entered into a definitive agreement with Verizon Wireless to sell the Indianapolis and Lafayette, Ind., licenses that it acquired from AWS for $24 million. Following both transactions, which are expected to close before the end of this year, Centennial said it will gain approximately 2.2 million pops and receive $4.5 million in cash.
Centennial said it plans to launch GSM/GPRS services in Grand Rapids and Lansing covering 1.4 million pops by the end of next year, but that it does not currently have plans to build out the remaining licenses. The carrier expects to spend approximately $45 million during the next two years on capital expenditures related to the new buildout.
“This measured expansion substantially improves our footprint and competitive position in our Midwest cluster because many people in our existing territory travel regularly to Grand Rapids and Lansing,” said Michael Small, chief executive officer of Centennial. “This new territory is an attractive growth opportunity in its own right and it enables us to better market our services to more of our existing footprint.”