Everyone is paying very close attention to the news of Alltel being bought by Verizon. Verizon has potential to become an even bigger industry super-power than it has already become. I mentioned in a previous post FOUND HERE, that Verizon has agreed to a divestiture of network to aquire Alltel. The map here shows the areas that are going to be required to divest. (Click Here for a larger Photo)
The merger will not be approved until day 52 at minimum per FCC timelines, so in the mean time you can check out the proposal by Verizon with the new coverage after the merger. The map will represent the coverage given by Verizon's owned network after the aquisition of Rural Cellular Corp., and the merger with Alltel. This map is provided via the Federal Communications Commission. Verizon/Alltel merger proposal Map at FCC website
**UPDATE** Since this article was posted Verizon has agreed to Divest 15 additional markets. (see story below) The FCC has also imposed, as a condition of merger, 5 additional markets not already volunteered by Verizon.
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What is the source of this divestiture map? Does it come from the FCC website? thanks!
The divestiture map did not come from the FCC directly. However, the map was assembled using the CMA data that Verizon has agreed to divest as a condition of merger to the Department of Justice. Verizon also commited this divestiture to the FCC in an official statement. The document can all be found on the FCC website. The map only represents the 85 market areas that are already known for divestiture. Thank you for your comment, I hope you will visit frequently for information!
Kallan, I was interested in the Lake of the Woods property in Minnesota, on the map is it a light blue or dark blue asset.
Currently this asset is in the light blue area. Lake of the woods is located in the far northern section of MN. Very close to the border of Ontaria Canada.
This divestiture will be Verizon network not Alltel. Divestiture conditions require that Verizon find a purchaser for these areas before they can be approved for the merger, so Alltel areas will not be allowed to be divested by Verizon. Atlantis Holdings however, could divest areas of Alltel's network that they can see fit. Right now Alltel divestitures are not on the table.
This Divestiture map has not been updated with the new markets. These are just the original 85 from Verizons first letter filed with their application.
There has been another tweak to this list in today's news, as a part of the DOJ approval as I understand it.
I'm a former Midwest Wireless customer. MWW was run from a fancy new office in Mankato, MN. I live in that area, which seems to be at the edge of the divestiture map.
If Verizon has to divest those areas, what likely happens to customers of Alltel in those areas? Do they become Verizon customers, or customers of Company XYZ that buys those areas. I wish I knew what was going to happen - I am looking at new phones, and I've been holding off to see what the options are aftr Verizon takes over. Looks like I'll be waiting longer...
The Alltel customers should become customers of Verizon. The Verizon customers in the divested areas will be the only ones to move to XYZ company. Technically the customers on both networks are treated seperatly until all divestitures have completed. This allows Verizon to dump portions of their network, without risking newly aquired customers.
I hope that helps you
Are you going to join us for the LiveBlog coverage of the FCC meeting on November 4th? We should have a decision about the FCC approval!
Do you have any ideas on which companies may be interested in the divested areas in Ohio? I really hope for USCC but I know there are many possibilities. Thanks :)
I have not heard any news on possible purchasers in the divested markets yet. Verizon's required unload of 105 markets should catch a good amount of attention from smaller cellular carriers in the CDMA arena. Carriers like Leap Wireless and MetroPCS come to mind immediately, but again that is complete speculation. Sprints recent turn in a better direction may also bring them out of the woodwork to expand their footprint some. It is still anyones guess right now.