NEW YORK-Standard & Poor's Corp. lowered its rating on about $90 million in outstanding debt and $250 million in pending debt securities of Aliant Communications Co. because of the Nebraska phone company's recent acquisition by Alltel Corp."Ratings are constrained by the credit profile of...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Alltel Corp. said it is deploying Lightbridge Inc.'s FraudBuster fraud detection software."FraudBuster will alert us when wireless accounts show a pattern of activity that match one of the common criminal behavior patterns set up in the system," said Adrieanna Glover, manager of...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission saw its review of telecommunications mergers curtailed by a Senate committee last week just as it was succeeding in extracting 26 merger conditions from SBC Communications Inc. and Ameritech Corp., and it approved the transfer of Aliant Communications Inc.'s licenses...
Alltel Corp. last week expanded its wireless reach with a definitive agreement to buy Liberty Cellular Inc., a privately held company operating under the name Kansas Cellular.Liberty, based in Salina, Kan., offers wireless, paging, long-distance and Internet services throughout Kansas.Terms of the agreement call...
NEW YORK-Standard & Poor's assigned a preliminary single A- rating to Alltel Corp.'s $500 million senior unsecured debt shelf registration, with proceeds anticipated to be used primarily for repayment of bank debt.Standard and Poor's said its rating reflects the strength of the company's core...
Pinnacle Towers Inc. acquired four towers in North Carolina and Texas in two transactions.AirNet Communications Corp. said it is supplying additional infrastructure equipment, including base transceiver stations and a base station controller, to AirLink PCS, enabling AirLink to expand its mobile wireless network in...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Alltel Corp. said it has assumed operations of Durango Cellular Telephone Co. in Durango, Colo., following its acquisition of the company on March 31, and is introducing an expanded calling area in northern New Mexico as well as enhanced rate plans and...
NEW YORK-The promises of wireless voice communications as a landline replacement and of mobile data as a significant wireless revenue generator are moving closer to fulfillment but remain a few years away, chief technology officers of three carriers said at a recent seminar.On the...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Alltel Corp. announced it is launching a new advertising campaign produced by The Martin Agency that will appear in Alltel markets across 22 states beginning Feb. 21."The campaign is very direct and straightforward with a hint of humor that we feel reflects...
While the fourth quarter typically is the most competitive quarter of the year for mobile phone operators, a recent pricing study from Robinson-Humphrey Co. L.L.C. concludes that increased industry competition did not lead to dramatic price declines in the fourth quarter.The study found overall...
Never has an industry been so vastly underestimated as the cellular industry in its formative years.When the industry celebrated its 10th birthday in late 1993, industry watchers joked about how wrong the early subscriber forecasts were, while putting out new subscriber forecasts that underestimated...
As the end of the millennium approaches, it is worth pondering whether the recent bout of mergers and acquisitions are precedents to some colossal event of biblical proportions or merely defensive strategies of companies safeguarding themselves against falling commodity prices, uncertain technological change, increased...
Power ProductsPower Products Unlimited Inc. selected Ken Donofrio as its new marketing director. He will orchestrate all aspects of the company's marketing and carrier services program. Donofrio previously was director of marketing and carrier support for Cliffco Wireless.WirelessNorthWirelessNorth promoted its market development coordinator, Heidi...
NEW YORK-With more than 7,700 transactions valued at $1.2 trillion announced, the domestic mergers and acquisitions market for 1998 crushed by 84 percent its previous record of $650.7 billion, set the prior year.Although the number of deals was about even with 1997, the average...
LITTLE ROCK-Alltel Corp. announced it has signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire Aliant Communications Inc. in a deal valued at $1.5 billion.Under terms of the agreement, each share of Aliant will be exchanged for $39.13 of Alltel stock, within a range of .67...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Alltel Corp. announced it entered into an agreement to acquire all the assets of BellSouth Mobility's cellular operations in the Dothan, Ala., area."The purchase will allow us to bring the Alltel bundle of services, which may include paging, Internet access, long distance...
NEW YORK-The rapidly growing prepaid wireless sector offers carriers a means to reduce customer acquisition costs and capture market segments otherwise out of reach.Nevertheless, prepaid has its problems and its critics. Proponents of prepaid, however, argue solutions are readily available to smooth the bumps."The...
Alltel Corp. said it acquired Armstrong Cellular Inc.'s 15-percent interest in a network the two companies operate in Charleston, W.Va. Alltel now has 100 percent control of the operation. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The company also said last month it launched...
Rural Cellular Corp. Rural Cellular's revenues increased 103 percent to $34 million from $16.8 million during last year's third quarter. Net loss for the quarter totaled $4.5 million, or 50 cents per share, compared with net income of $621,000, or 7 cents per share,...
ORLANDO, Fla.-The North American GSM Alliance L.L.C. and the Universal Wireless Communications Consortium last week said they will join forces to collaborate on next-generation technology and to provide a unified lobbying force on Capitol Hill."We've agreed on a set of principles," said UWCC Chairman...
WASHINGTON-NAACP President Kweisi Mfume last week called for a boycott of two top wireless firms-AirTouch Communications Inc. and AllTel Corp.-for inadequate representation of African Americans in employment and contracting practices, a backlash becoming more pronounced as a result of affirmative-action curbs and increased telecom...
WASHINGTON-A federal appeals court recently dealt a blow to wireless carriers hoping to site antennas in areas where residents believe they would be an eyesore. " industry should take it as a shout across the bow. The political winds are shifting," said Paul Rosa...
