LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Alltel Corp. said it completed the sale of its Ireland-based Meteor Mobile Communications Ltd. business to a subsidiary of fixed-line telecommunications provider Eircom Group plc. for $500 million. The sale was originally announced in late July ahead of Alltel's $6 billion acquisition...
Alltel Corp. continued its rural expansion by gobbling up privately held Midwest Wireless for $1.075 billion in cash. The acquisition comes just months after Alltel closed on its $6 billion purchase of Western Wireless Corp. and follows its 2002 acquisition of CenturyTel Inc.'s wireless...
Alltel Corp. continued its rural expansion by gobbling up privately held Midwest Wireless for $1.075 billion in cash. The acquisition comes just months after Alltel closed on its $6 billion purchase of Western Wireless Corp. and follows its 2002 acquisition of CenturyTel Inc.'s wireless...
Expectations for a strong third quarter got off to a rocky start as early reports from three of the industry's five largest operators have shown customer growth falling short of the previous year and analysts estimates. Reigning heavyweight Cingular Wireless L.L.C. missed reduced expectations...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Alltel Corp. said it rolled out new rate plans to former Western Wireless Corp. and Cellular One customers who Alltel acquired when it purchased Western Wireless Aug. 1. The new rate plans take advantage of Alltel's extensive roaming agreements and include its...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Alltel Corp. posted a disappointing 20,887 internally driven net customer additions during the third quarter, less than half the 58,254 customers the carrier added in 2004 and below analyst estimates. Alltel attributed the shortfall to higher churn in markets it recently acquired...
Alltel Corp. said it rolled out new rate plans to former Western Wireless Corp. and Cellular One customers who Alltel acquired when it purchased Western Wireless Aug. 1. The new rate plans take advantage of Alltel's extensive roaming agreements and include its Total Freedom,...
Midwest Wireless is the latest regional wireless operator to look at potential strategic alternatives for its operations. The privately held carrier serves more than 420,000 customers on its CDMA-based network in parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. Midwest Wireless Chief Operating Officer Scott Bergs...
With the wireless industry's six largest operators now serving more than 90 percent of the country's wireless subscribers, regional players continue to scramble for their pieces of the pie. Many of these carriers have managed to lower their dependence on volatile roaming revenues, but...
CHICAGO-U.S. Cellular Corp. said it plans to close its customer care center in Medford, Ore., as part of a realignment associated with the recent market swap with Alltel Corp. The carrier said the closure would affect approximately 170 employees.U.S. Cellular noted that it expects...
Alltel Corp. said it has begun a strategic review related to the possible spinoff of its wireline operations that serve around 3 million customers in 16 states.The company announced earlier this year that it would undertake a review of possible strategic alternatives for its...
Verizon Wireless is on track to post another record quarter of net additions driven by back-to-school and family-plan additions, according to a report from Merrill Lynch. Based on more than 80 store visits in five markets, the firm said it raised its third-quarter net...
Conceding that no carrier wants to offer islands of coverage, U.S. Cellular Corp. and Alltel Corp. swapped assets in rural America to fortify their geographic footprints and shed nonstrategic assets. U.S. Cellular paid $50 million and gave up two rural Idaho licenses in exchange...
Alltel Corp. reported a deal with U.S. Cellular Corp. to swap 15 rural markets in Nebraska and Kansas that Alltel acquired when it purchased Western Wireless Corp. for two Rural Service Area markets in Idaho currently operated by U.S. Cellular and $50 million in...
Alltel Corp. is taking a slow and steady approach to integrating its recently acquired Western Wireless Corp. assets. The company is expected only to make minor changes through the end of this year and wait on major initiatives until next year. Alltel has updated...
Embattled prepaid wireless service platform provider Boston Communications Group Inc. has granted preferred stock purchase rights for its shareholders in an effort to stave off any possible takeover attempt. The rights, which will trade automatically with the underlying common stock, may be exercised only...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Alltel Corp. reported that its newly acquired Western Wireless International Austria Corp. subsidiary has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Austrian business Tele.ring Telekom Service GmbH to Deutsche Telekom AG subsidiary T-Mobile Austria GmbH for $1.6 billion.Alltel noted the deal's...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Western Wireless L.L.C. will buy back nearly $600 million in stock following its acquisition by Alltel Corp., the company said Friday.The carrier said it will buy back 97 percent of its 9.25-percent senior notes on the market from shareholders who tendered notes...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Alltel Corp. reported that its newly acquired Western Wireless International Austria Corp. subsidiary has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Austrian business Tele.ring Telekom Service GmbH to Deutsche Telekom AG subsidiary T-Mobile Austria GmbH for $1.6 billion.Alltel, which closed on...
Independent regional operators posted mixed second-quarter results that in most cases included sagging customer growth, but increased revenue per subscriber bolstered by growing wireless data usage. Recently strengthened Alltel Corp., which closed its acquisition of Western Wireless Corp., was a prime example. The industry's...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Alltel Corp. closed on its $6.5 billion acquisition of Western Wireless Corp. Alltel reported it would issue 54.3 million shares of common stock and pay $933.4 million in cash to Western Wireless shareholders. Alltel also will assume $2.1 billion in net debt.Alltel...
Following are changes in wireless company ratings reported by financial services and investment banking firms this week.Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said Sprint Corp. and Nextel Communications Inc. remain on CreditWatch with positive implications based on operating and financial improvement. Raymond James downgraded Crown...
Alltel Corp., which completed its acquisition of Western Wireless Corp. earlier this week, reported mixed second-quarter wireless results that were highlighted by a steep climb in average revenue per user but tempered by slower-than-expected internal net customer additions. Alltel said it added 53,593 internal...
The frenzy of consolidation sweeping the wireless industry may not be over as an industry research firm recommended that some nationwide operators could see both long- and short-term benefits by acquiring keenly focused regional players. Citing the possibility of increased penetration into key Hispanic...
