Verizon customers in 10 Nebraska counties will need new phones
Wednesday, May 13, 2009 - 12:15 am
Lee Enterprises
Verizon Wireless customers in 10 Nebraska counties will have to buy new cell phones to accommodate AT&T's purchase of their contracts.AT&T Inc. confirmed it will buy the assets of Verizon Wireless in 79 mainly rural areas - including the accounts of customers in 10 Nebraska counties - for $2.35 billion, a deal that will transfer more than 1 million subscribers. That transfer won't happen until after the deal closes, which is expected in the fourth quarter of this year.
Verizon Wireless was forced to sell the service areas, which are spread over 18 states, to satisfy regulatory conditions of its purchase of Alltel Corp.
The counties in Nebraska covered by the agreement are: Boone, Butler, Colfax, Dodge, Merrick, Nance, Platte, Polk, Saunders and Washington. AT&T would not disclose how many customers it will acquire in Nebraska.
Verizon Wireless handsets won't work in the AT&T system. So Verizon subscribers who join the AT&T network will need new handsets once the conversion is completed, said Amy Grundman, a spokeswoman for AT&T.
"We anticipate these customers will be excited with the selection we will offer them, and we plan to make this process as smooth as possible for these subscribers," she said.
During the transition, customers will remain on their existing contracts.
When the customers who are currently on the Verizon network are migrated to the AT&T network, "we expect to transition these customers to AT&T contracts, but in the short-term they will be able to remain on their existing contracts," Grundman said.
The transaction is contingent upon regulatory approval and is expected
to close in the fourth quarter of 2009. AT&T is getting spectrum licenses, cell towers and 1.5 million subscribers in the deal.
After the closing, it will take less than a year to convert to AT&T's network technology, which will require about $400 million in investment, AT&T said.
The states with areas included in the deal are Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee,
Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.
Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. of New York and Vodafone Group PLC of Britain.
AT&T said its new subscribers will realize significant benefits, including access to its broadband network and a variety of devices.
