Unicel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rural Cellular Corporation | |
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| Type | Public (NASDAQ RCCC) |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Headquarters | Alexandria, Minnesota |
| Key people | Richard P. Ekstrand, President & CEO |
| Industry | Communications Services |
| Products | Telecommunications |
| Revenue | ▲$564 million USD (2006) |
| Website | www.unicel.com |
Unicel is a brand of mobile phone service from Rural Cellular Corporation. It originated in Unity Maine. Service is provided in northern Minnesota, northern New England, Mississippi, Alabama, eastern Washington and Oregon, and adjacent areas.[1] The company is headquartered in Alexandria, Minnesota. Until 2005, RCC also operated 850mhz cellular service under the brand name Cellular 2000.
Unicel offers 850mhz and 1900mhz (PCS) service largely using GSM technology, but much of its Minnesota territory uses competing cdmaOne instead. Legacy AMPS and D-AMPS phones are commonly in use as well. The use of both GSM and CDMA reflects the fact that the Unicel service area has been assembled through the acquisitions of other wireless carriers.
On 30 July 2007, Rural Cellular Corporation announced [2] it agreed to be acquired by Verizon Wireless (a CDMA carrier). Verizon said that it plans to convert RCC's GSM customers to CDMA technology, but it will continue to operate RCC's current GSM network in order to generate roaming revenue. The sale is expected to close in early 2008, pending approvals from the FCC and potentially the Department of Justice, to ensure that the acquisition won't be anti-competitive in some geographic areas. On 4 October 2007, Rural Cellular Corporation announced that its shareholders voted to approve the merger agreement providing for the acquisition of Rural Cellular Corporation by Verizon Wireless for approximately $2.67 billion in cash and assumed debt.
On 4 December 2007, Verizon announced that it would swap some of its RCC properties with AT&T in exchange for some properties from Dobson Cellular, which AT&T recently acquired.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.unicel.com/aboutus/investor_relations/licensed_area/
- ^ Free Preview - WSJ.com
- ^ AT&T, Verizon To Swap Rural Wireless Assets - Wireless - InformationWeek
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