In the ongoing machinations of a pending merger between Sprint affiliates Ntelos and Shentel, a new FCC filing sheds some light on the spectrum and network plans the three carriers are considerig.
The deal will combine a pair of Sprint network affiliates that has led to a new agreement between Shenandoah and Sprint.
Financials on the proposed transaction call for Ntelos shareholders to receive $9.25 per share, which Shenandoah said is a 60% premium over Ntelos’ average price over the past 30 days. Shenandoah, which operates under the Shentel brand, will also take over Ntelos’ $431 million net debt as part of the deal. The deal has been approved by both companies, with Shenandoah predicting a close early next year.
Once Shentel closes on the proposed Ntelos deal, Sprint will receive Ntelos spectrum assets covering 5.4 million potential customers in parts of Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Kentucky and North Carolina. Shentel, which will terminate the existing network wholesale agreements between Sprint and Ntelos, has pledged to continue LTE upgrades to the Ntelos network and expand coverage with at least an additional 150 sites over the next three years, using spectrum acquired by Sprint and made available to Shentel as part of the transaction. Those spectrum assets are to include Sprint’s 2.5 GHz spectrum holdings in Shentel’s footprint, which are central to Sprint’s planned updates to its LTE service.
The FCC filing, dated April 12, goes into detail about the particular geographic areas and spectrum types in play.
On the network side, the new FCC filing details: “In prior filings Shentel has committed to invest up to $350 million in network infrastructure improvements within the current Ntelos service area to effectuate significant network upgrades and network expansion within five years of close of the transaction. In conjunction with that investment Shentel commits to the following network deployment steps. As previously explained, Shentel commits to complete a network-wide deployment of 4G LTE service in Band Class 25 (1900 MHz), as well as commit to complete a network-wide deployment of 4G LTE and voice services in Band Class 26 (800 MHz) in the current Ntelos service area. Shentel will also deploy 4G LTE service in Band Class 41 (2.5 GHz) in NTELOS service areas with greater population density. Through this deployment plan Shentel commits to upgrade the 857 existing NTELOS cell sites that were active (on air) as of December 31, 2015.”
