WirelessAdvisor.com

bobolito · 06-16-2008, 1:42 PM

DOJ Requires Verizon to Divest for Merger

Grant Gross, IDG News ServiceTue Jun 10, 12:30 PM ET

Verizon Communications must sell off portions of Unicel's mobile network in order to complete its US$2.7 billion acquisition of the company, the U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday.

The DOJ will require Verizon to sell off Unicel's mobile phone infrastructure in six geographic areas in Vermont, New York state and Washington state, including Burlington, Vermont, the agency said. The DOJ's Antitrust Division filed a civil lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, asking the court to block the proposed acquisition unless Verizon agrees to the DOJ's recommendations. The DOJ also filed a proposed consent decree that would resolve the issues.

The acquisition, as proposed, would have "substantially lessened competition to the detriment of consumers of mobile wireless telecommunications services in those areas, potentially resulting in higher prices, lower quality and reduced network investments," the DOJ said in a news release.

Unicel's legal name is Rural Cellular. Rural Cellular is the 10th largest mobile provider in the U.S., providing mobile service to nearly 790,000 subscribers in 15 states, the DOJ said.

Verizon is the second largest mobile service provider in the U.S., based on the number of subscribers. Verizon Wireless serves more than 65 million customers in 49 states.

In the geographic areas covered in the DOJ complaint, Verizon and Rural Cellular combined serve more than 60 percent of mobile subscribers, the DOJ said.

The acquisition also is subject to review by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. The state of Vermont joined the DOJ in the complaint and proposed consent decree.

Verizon spokespeople were not immediately available for comment.

DOJ Requires Verizon to Divest for Merger - Yahoo! News

larry · 06-16-2008, 2:49 PM

I'm glad to hear the feds are requiring this divesture. Hopefully they will make them divest a bunch of properties with the Alltel merger as well.

Quint101 · 06-16-2008, 4:47 PM

I was under the impression that Verizon were in talks with AT&T to surrender the Vermont properties... So they figured that the writing was on the wall.

spleck · 06-16-2008, 5:09 PM

Verizon and AT&T had already set up a deal to trade the areas that VZW already had a cellular license to AT&T in exchange for cellular licenses in parts of Kentucky where Verizon currently has nothing, and some various PCS spectrum. I'm not sure if there were any assets (towers/sites/switches) included in that deal

They had not counted on Verizon being required to divest the southern Vermont area since Verizon does not currently have a cellular license there (they do however have a decent PCS network). There is a stipulation that will allow VZW to keep 10 MHz of cellular spectrum in exchange for 10 MHz of PCS if the "plaintiff" (US Government) agrees. As such, VZW and AT&T are expected to renegotiate the deal since VZW has a little extra they have to sell.

Here's the DOJ Final Judgement

~~RJB~~ · 06-16-2008, 8:07 PM

http://forums.wirelessadvisor.com/wi...ve-divest.html (VZW will have to divest some markets to win DoJ approval of RCC deal)

blsemp · 06-16-2008, 9:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by larry

I'm glad to hear the feds are requiring this divesture. Hopefully they will make them divest a bunch of properties with the Alltel merger as well.

I am hoping that Sprint doesn't have the money to buy it and AT&T gets the 850 freq in SC.

~~RJB~~ · 06-16-2008, 9:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blsemp

I am hoping that Sprint doesn't have the money to buy it and AT&T gets the 850 freq in SC.

No actually I would love to see Sprint get some 850 I would rather them than any other carrier at this point. I want to see them turn around and be a strong force.

Quint101 · 06-16-2008, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blsemp

I am hoping that Sprint doesn't have the money to buy it and AT&T gets the 850 freq in SC.

Or maybe USCellular is inclined to increase their Carolinas coverage

~~RJB~~ · 06-16-2008, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spleck

Verizon and AT&T had already set up a deal to trade the areas that VZW already had a cellular license to AT&T in exchange for cellular licenses in parts of Kentucky where Verizon currently has nothing, and some various PCS spectrum. I'm not sure if there were any assets (towers/sites/switches) included in that deal

They had not counted on Verizon being required to divest the southern Vermont area since Verizon does not currently have a cellular license there (they do however have a decent PCS network). There is a stipulation that will allow VZW to keep 10 MHz of cellular spectrum in exchange for 10 MHz of PCS if the "plaintiff" (US Government) agrees. As such, VZW and AT&T are expected to renegotiate the deal since VZW has a little extra they have to sell.

Here's the DOJ Final Judgement

Thanks for the link...

spleck · 06-16-2008, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJB

No actually I would love to see Sprint get some 850 I would rather them than any other carrier at this point. I want to see them turn around and be a strong force.

I hope Sprint is in a position to take advantage of any potential divestitures. I would like either Sprint or T-Mobile to get extra coverage in either 850 OR 1900. I'm fine with carrier buyouts and mergers as long as the big 4 survive and maintain national coverage. It seems like it would be in VZW's interest to stop giving AT&T (their biggest compeitor) good deals on new coverage. I think trading for AT&T's dual 850 licenses is okay though. VZW could have the whole Southeast covered in 850 if they make the right trades.

Eric47 · 06-16-2008, 11:03 PM

likely hood is att will get the assets. lets face it, eventaully the US will be like europe and asia, 2-3 carriers and thats it.

KyleAndMelissa22 · 06-17-2008, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by larry

I'm glad to hear the feds are requiring this divesture.
Hopefully they will make them divest a bunch of properties with the Alltel merger as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by blsemp

I am hoping that Sprint doesn't have the money to buy it and AT&T gets the 850 freq in SC.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric47

likely hood is att will get the assets.

AT&T does NOT absolutely need Alltel's spectrum in VZW overlapping areas.

Here in SC, AT&T's 1900 network was the 1st place to have a GSM network in the US,
GSM was in the Carolinas before anywhere else in the US, and so their 1900 network is very mature,
so why would AT&T need 850 in addition to a well-built 1900 network???

Verizon's better off keeping the Alltel spectrum without divesting to AT&T,
otherwise AT&T would have way too much licensed spectrum,
which AT&T would have to divest it again anyway.

If Alltel were divested in the Carolinas, then it would make sense to goto US Cellular,
as they already own 850 in adjacent areas around the Carolinas and into Virginia.

So hopefully Alltel's spectrum stays as it is in most places, if not then US Cellular should take it over.

cellular_freak · 06-17-2008, 1:19 AM

I wonder if Verizon will give US Cellular Alltel's overlapping areas. That would be really interesting. There's a few areas here in Michigan where both Verizon and Alltel are the cellular A and B side carrier. However, in all of those places, Sprint, Nextel, AT&T, and T-Mobile have a large presence as well. So I wonder if they would be required to divest those types of areas if there's a lot of competition.

bobolito · 06-17-2008, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KyleAndMelissa22

AT&T does NOT absolutely need Alltel's spectrum in VZW overlapping areas.

Here in SC, AT&T's 1900 network was the 1st place to have a GSM network in the US,
GSM was in the Carolinas before anywhere else in the US, and so their 1900 network is very mature,
so why would AT&T need 850 in addition to a well-built 1900 network???

The main reason 850 is so coveted is because it does better in buildings. A well-built 1900Mhz will not do better indoors than a well-built 850Mhz network. This is common knowledge.

bobolito · 06-17-2008, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJB

No actually I would love to see Sprint get some 850 I would rather them than any other carrier at this point. I want to see them turn around and be a strong force.

May the force be with the Deathstar...

spleck · 06-17-2008, 10:40 AM

I'm against one carrier owning both cellular licenses, but the FCC/DOJ has allowed Alltel to keep one dual license and AT&T has a bunch in Florida. There would have to be a significant ruling disallowing it for the trend to change.

VZW is pushing the fact that with spectrum in 700, SMR, Cellular, PCS, AWS, 2.6, etc, that there is plenty available. Other carriers are helping their case by actually using it: MetroPCS/Cricket/T-Mobile using AWS now. ClearWire using 2.6. A large variety of independent companies with licenses in the 700 MHz range.

I hope that the value and compatibility of cellular spectrum balances the market naturally. VZW, with partial foreign ownership, doesn't WANT to be an antitrust target. They want to avoid forced divestiture so they can leverage the value of those licenses, rather than sell them at a discount on a deadline, but they don't want to sit on them asking for more trouble in the future. I think they want AT&T's extra Florida licenses in exchange for a few of their own, and they'll use the rest to barter to complete their license coverage portfolio over the next few years.

They may tell the FCC/DOJ that all spectrum is created equal, but its no secret that 850 is the core of the VZW and AT&T network, and that 1900 PCS is for capacity management and to fill in gaps.

army1 · 06-18-2008, 1:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by larry

I'm glad to hear the feds are requiring this divesture. Hopefully they will make them divest a bunch of properties with the Alltel merger as well.

hopefully you are right

RadioFoneGuy · 06-18-2008, 9:45 AM

Verizon isnt stupid, they will maximize any trades that may take place. They will look at AT&T double Cellular license areas and barter for trades in Alltel area or vise versa.

This all goes back to Fan Boy status really. Of Course we all want our "Carriers" to get the coveted "850" so were less inclined to have our less favorite companies to pick up the spectrum.

Its all the about the playing with Hotwheels and Matchbox

06-16-2008, 1:42 PM	#1 (permalink)
bobolito iPhone 3G 16GB (White) Join Date: May 2002 Location: New Sanfrakota Posts: 12,378 Phone(s): iPhone 3G, RAZR V9, Sierra 875 3G Aircard, HP iPaq Classic 110 Provider(s): AT&T Mobility Devices: WiFi cards/Access points Thanks: 3 Thanked 11 Times in 10 Posts Images: 50 My Auctions	DOJ Requires Verizon to Divest on Unicel Merger DOJ Requires Verizon to Divest for Merger Grant Gross, IDG News ServiceTue Jun 10, 12:30 PM ET Verizon Communications must sell off portions of Unicel's mobile network in order to complete its US$2.7 billion acquisition of the company, the U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday. The DOJ will require Verizon to sell off Unicel's mobile phone infrastructure in six geographic areas in Vermont, New York state and Washington state, including Burlington, Vermont, the agency said. The DOJ's Antitrust Division filed a civil lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, asking the court to block the proposed acquisition unless Verizon agrees to the DOJ's recommendations. The DOJ also filed a proposed consent decree that would resolve the issues. The acquisition, as proposed, would have "substantially lessened competition to the detriment of consumers of mobile wireless telecommunications services in those areas, potentially resulting in higher prices, lower quality and reduced network investments," the DOJ said in a news release. Unicel's legal name is Rural Cellular. Rural Cellular is the 10th largest mobile provider in the U.S., providing mobile service to nearly 790,000 subscribers in 15 states, the DOJ said. Verizon is the second largest mobile service provider in the U.S., based on the number of subscribers. Verizon Wireless serves more than 65 million customers in 49 states. In the geographic areas covered in the DOJ complaint, Verizon and Rural Cellular combined serve more than 60 percent of mobile subscribers, the DOJ said. The acquisition also is subject to review by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. The state of Vermont joined the DOJ in the complaint and proposed consent decree. Verizon spokespeople were not immediately available for comment. DOJ Requires Verizon to Divest for Merger - Yahoo! News __________________

06-16-2008, 2:49 PM	#2 (permalink)
larry Go Angels! Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 12,869 Phone(s): LG Rumor Provider(s): Sprint Thanks: 11 Thanked 14 Times in 14 Posts Images: 146 My Auctions	Re: DOJ Requires Verizon to Divest on Unicel Merger I'm glad to hear the feds are requiring this divesture. Hopefully they will make them divest a bunch of properties with the Alltel merger as well.

06-16-2008, 4:47 PM	#3 (permalink)
Quint101 Let's go Birds!!! Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 2,515 Phone(s): BlackBerry Pearl, Motorolas W385, v195s, LG AX4270, SE Z310a Provider(s): Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Alltel, AT&T Devices: Jabra BT8010, Plantronics Pulsar 260 Thanks: 14 Thanked 8 Times in 7 Posts Images: 36 My Auctions	Re: DOJ Requires Verizon to Divest on Unicel Merger I was under the impression that Verizon were in talks with AT&T to surrender the Vermont properties... So they figured that the writing was on the wall.

06-16-2008, 5:09 PM	#4 (permalink)
spleck Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Middle GA Posts: 498 Phone(s): iPhone 3G, T-Mobile Wing Provider(s): AT&T, T-Mobile Devices: Garmin GPSMAP 76CSx, Canon EOS Rebel XTi Thanks: 10 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts Images: 18	Re: DOJ Requires Verizon to Divest on Unicel Merger Verizon and AT&T had already set up a deal to trade the areas that VZW already had a cellular license to AT&T in exchange for cellular licenses in parts of Kentucky where Verizon currently has nothing, and some various PCS spectrum. I'm not sure if there were any assets (towers/sites/switches) included in that deal They had not counted on Verizon being required to divest the southern Vermont area since Verizon does not currently have a cellular license there (they do however have a decent PCS network). There is a stipulation that will allow VZW to keep 10 MHz of cellular spectrum in exchange for 10 MHz of PCS if the "plaintiff" (US Government) agrees. As such, VZW and AT&T are expected to renegotiate the deal since VZW has a little extra they have to sell. Here's the DOJ Final Judgement

06-16-2008, 8:07 PM	#5 (permalink)
~~RJB~~ Banned Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 7,040 Thanks: 35 Thanked 13 Times in 13 Posts Images: 69	Re: DOJ Requires Verizon to Divest on Unicel Merger http://forums.wirelessadvisor.com/wi...ve-divest.html (VZW will have to divest some markets to win DoJ approval of RCC deal)

06-16-2008, 11:03 PM	#11 (permalink)
Eric47 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: in my own house Posts: 1,404 Phone(s): crackberry's Devices: my home wi-fi router and laptop Thanks: 5 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Images: 49	Re: DOJ Requires Verizon to Divest on Unicel Merger likely hood is att will get the assets. lets face it, eventaully the US will be like europe and asia, 2-3 carriers and thats it.

06-17-2008, 1:19 AM	#13 (permalink)
cellular_freak Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Caro, MI Posts: 389 Phone(s): iPhone 3G - White Provider(s): AT&T Thanks: 2 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts Images: 38 My Auctions	Re: DOJ Requires Verizon to Divest on Unicel Merger I wonder if Verizon will give US Cellular Alltel's overlapping areas. That would be really interesting. There's a few areas here in Michigan where both Verizon and Alltel are the cellular A and B side carrier. However, in all of those places, Sprint, Nextel, AT&T, and T-Mobile have a large presence as well. So I wonder if they would be required to divest those types of areas if there's a lot of competition.

06-17-2008, 10:40 AM	#16 (permalink)
spleck Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Middle GA Posts: 498 Phone(s): iPhone 3G, T-Mobile Wing Provider(s): AT&T, T-Mobile Devices: Garmin GPSMAP 76CSx, Canon EOS Rebel XTi Thanks: 10 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts Images: 18	Re: DOJ Requires Verizon to Divest on Unicel Merger I'm against one carrier owning both cellular licenses, but the FCC/DOJ has allowed Alltel to keep one dual license and AT&T has a bunch in Florida. There would have to be a significant ruling disallowing it for the trend to change. VZW is pushing the fact that with spectrum in 700, SMR, Cellular, PCS, AWS, 2.6, etc, that there is plenty available. Other carriers are helping their case by actually using it: MetroPCS/Cricket/T-Mobile using AWS now. ClearWire using 2.6. A large variety of independent companies with licenses in the 700 MHz range. I hope that the value and compatibility of cellular spectrum balances the market naturally. VZW, with partial foreign ownership, doesn't WANT to be an antitrust target. They want to avoid forced divestiture so they can leverage the value of those licenses, rather than sell them at a discount on a deadline, but they don't want to sit on them asking for more trouble in the future. I think they want AT&T's extra Florida licenses in exchange for a few of their own, and they'll use the rest to barter to complete their license coverage portfolio over the next few years. They may tell the FCC/DOJ that all spectrum is created equal, but its no secret that 850 is the core of the VZW and AT&T network, and that 1900 PCS is for capacity management and to fill in gaps.

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