The sky's the limit....the question is whether Verizon would also be interested in buying Alltel's newly acquired Western Wireless GSM network setup as well. I don't think Verizon would do this since they would also have to give up licenses and possibly spectrum in areas where Alltel already has service (undoubtedly this would make Sprint's day).
Verizon can't buy Alltel The Department of Justice will not approve it. The same for Cingular also. Reason: The deal is anti competitive due to too many divestment markets. If Verizon wanted Alltel they should have bought them before they did the deal with Western Wireless. Verizon could buy US Cellular and do a big swap with Alltel. I don't think TDS Telecom is wanting to sell US Cellular.
Verizon has to buy Out Vodaphone 45% share first, before buying another carrier. If it Buys Alltel, Vodaphone ownership is still 45% of a Much Bigger VZW. Does'nt make sense.
I honestly don't see Vodafone letting go that easily. They definitely would be making a big mistake if they exited the US wireless market since they won't be able to get back in unless they somehow bought out the likes of T-Mobile, Suncom etc.
Would T-Mobile really let them have T-Mobile USA, the one that brings them the most money that to one of their biggest competitors though?
No, that is highly unlikely. But it would theoretically be the only way for Vodafone to gain a foothold in the US should they sell their 45% stake in Verizon.
If Vodafone does exit the Cellco Partnership they could either partner up with T-Mobile in the US (Most say that won't happen because Vodafone and T-Mobile don't get along that well). Or they could buy Alltel and get airwaves they need in Metro markets in the AWS auction this June. Or I guess Vodafone can take the money become more competitive in Europe.
The thing is that Vodafone has virtually covered most of Europe already by either buying out networks which they now hold completely or they have a majority stake in several partner networks such as SFR in France. They've also sold Vodafone Sweden so they're in the process of re-evaluating unnecessary assets.
I just have one question. If VZW buys Alltel then where are CDMA users going to turn for decent software to run on their phones to avoid all that VZW crap. I know many people are using Alltel software on their CDMA Motorola phones to avoid VZW's crap. -Jay
Verizon is updating their UI soon. Better things are to come. But you do make a good point. I'm not sure if other generic Moto UI's can be found on the web??
I think Vodafone would probably rather gain a controlling stake in Verizon than acquire a new network. If Vodafone were to sell its stake in Verizon I doubt they would want to leave the American market and I can't seem them being content with a smaller network. This would then leave them with the other three national networks. I don't see them being interested in Sprint-Nextel because they are in the process of merging plus they don't use GSM or UMTS, in which respect Vodafone would be in the same position as it currently is with Verizon. T-Mobile USA, as was mentioned above, is a big earner for T-Mobile and I can't see them selling off such an important part of their global presence to one of their biggest competitors. We are really just left with Cingular. Cingular does have some attractions for Vodafone; it is a GSM network, which would make it compatible with most of Vodafone's global network. Cingular is also implementing UMTS, which is line with Vodafone's own 3G strategy. Cingular is a national network with a large coverage area allowing it to compete throughout the U.S. Vodafone did bid for AT&T so they obviously have an interest in acquiring a national GSM network, however, I would imagine buying a combined AT&T/Cingular would cost a huge amount of money. Vodafone might be able to afford it, but even so they might still consider it too high a price.
The main reason why AT&T wants Bell South is 100% ownership of Cingular Wireless. So I don't think Vodafone could get any of Cingular because AT&T wants it all. AT&T does not want to share wireless at this time. AT&T is also been buying out alot of their partners in many of their markets as well. I am sure it will be only time that AT&T starts buying out affiates like Royal Wireless, ABC Wireless, Edge Wireless, Cascade Wireless, Salmon PCS, and all the others.
Vodafone will probably get a handsome price for their network in Japan. It's valued at $12 billion: http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/03032006/323/vodafone-confirms-talks-sale-japan-unit.html No doubt they could make a move to increase their stake Verizon this way. But first we'll have to see what Verizon will do with Alltel (if anything) and also if they'll allow Vodafone to increase the 45% stake. What was the reason for Vodafone getting involved with Verizon in the first place?
@ShoresGuy I imagine Vodafone wanted access to the American market and they probably wanted to take Verizon down the UMTS route, but their 45% wouldn't be enough to allow them to do that. I'm not sure if they will be able to get a controlling stake in Verizon and even if they did they would then have the prospect of controlling a non-UMTS network or investing a lot of money to convert it to UMTS.
In 1999 Bell Atlantic wanted Airtouch cellular for its CDMA/Analog Cellular network in the US. Vodafone wanted Airtouch for its international networks it had. So Vodafone won the battle and got Airtouch and then in a few months become part of the merger to form Verizon wireless.
My opinion is that Vodaphone should pile up some cash in time for the next spectrum auctions, for 2100 MHz (and 700 MHz coming about April 2009, when analog TV broadcasting ENDs!). They should also try to get a "most favored" roaming deal with Verizon, like Alltel's, should they come to part. But as to the original thread topic, no, Verizon shouldn't buy Alltel (at least, not until they are sole owner of VZW). COtech
Then the question would be whether Verizon would sell Alltel's acquired Western Wireless assets. No doubt T-Mobile would take a stab at it then.
The other thing to consider about Vodafone is that there have been calls for it to sell its stake in Verizon. So far the board don't appear to want to do that, but apparently haven't ruled it out in the future. As far as I can see Verizon doesn't actually add anything to Vodafone's global network. Vodafone's customers can't roam on Verizon when they travel to the U.S. without rental handsets or handsets designed to work on both GSM/UMTS and CDMA networks. As far as I am aware no such handsets are currently available in Europe (and likely most if not all other Vodafone markets) although they are available to Verizon customers.
The only thing tha VZW add's to Vodaphone's global network portfolio is a lot of cash. Ton's of cash. Vodaphone has got it made with their stake in VZW, just sit back let someone else run the show and reap the rewards. It would be a very stupid move for Vodophone to sell their stake in VZW. But then again we are talking about huge corporations and the "highly edukated" people running them. Any thing could happen.
I was meaning that Verizon doesn't add anything to their global network capability. It's sort of an anomaly in Vodafone's portfolio because it can't really interact with the rest of Vodafone's network. Perhaps the situation will change when Vodafone starts offering dual GSM/UMTS - CDMA handsets. I would agree with you regarding the cash situation; Vodafone have a nice investment there.
