January 5, 2009 12:17 PM PST
Verizon to close Alltel deal Friday
In an FCC filing late last week, Verizon Wireless said it would close its acquisition of regional carrier Alltel by Friday, January 9. Verizon is paying $5.9 billion for Alltel and its 14 million subscribers. After the merger, Verizon would surpass AT&T to become the largest carrier in the United States, with an expected 78 million customers.
As part of the deal, Verizon will close Alltel's headquarters in Little Rock, Ark., while retaining is own head office in Basking Ridge, N.J. Verizon will open a call center in Little Rock and sell assets in markets that overlap with Alltel.
Clarification: Verizon Wireless also assumed $22.2 billion in Alltel debt for a total acquisition worth $28.1 billion.
Kent German is a senior editor for cell phone reviews at CNET. When he's not testing the newest handsets on the market, he's blogging about cell phone news for Crave. In his On Call column, he answers reader questions and gives his take on the rapidly changing mobile industry. E-mail Kent. 
"Verizon's awful ... until they buy us. "
See http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/technology/06phone.html
I guess I am just venting out these corporations that take over due to debt or dollar signs. Hope everything works out for everyone on both companies.
For instance, when I am on the road with football in the fall and we are in some sub-par swampland in Ohio....most of the people with Verizon had NO service....no exaggeration here. My coworkers had no service. I on the other hand, with Alltel, had service. It may not always have been great, but I had it. It irritates me that Verizon claims that there are no black out zones, but seriously...that just isn't true.
I hate that I don't get a choice and I'm going to be lumped into the mass of Verizon users. AGAIN! My dearest hope is that we get to keep some of our Alltel perks....but like the economy....my hopes are falling! :( :( :( :(
Verizon is REALLY thinking about useing My Circle from Alltel.
- by m_weber42 February 6, 2009 7:35 AM PST
- Seriously guys, Verizon did not just make the purchase of Alltel to obtain their customers and put Alltel down. Verizon's network was mostly focused on larger cities and major highways up to this point. The merger with Alltel gives Verizon's network a boost to include the LARGE number of rural communities and gives them a larger "blanket" coverage all over. The only thing I see this merger doing is to allow previous Verizon customers better coverage and allow Alltel customers a larger variety of phones and services. The only downfall I can see with this is that the service and support which in my opinion was fairly decent with Alltel, may suffer as it joins with Verizon's corporate structure.
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