Alltel Sells Assets and Cellular One Brand Name

Dobson Communications has agreed to purchase the Cellular One brand from Alltel. Dobson is a provider of wireless phone services to rural markets in 16 states and has been a primary licensee of the Cellular One brand, which was owned by Western Wireless prior to its acquisition by Alltel earlier this year. Dobson agreed to purchase the brand for US$1.3 million.

Alltel is a communications company with more than 15 million customers in 36 states. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, Dobson Communications serves 1.6 million customers.

Alltel also announced an agreement to sell a Rural Service Area (RSA) market in southwest Arkansas to Cingular Wireless The agreements, subject to federal regulatory approval, will complete divestiture requirements related to Alltel's merger with Western Wireless Corp.

Terms of the Cingular transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2006, were not disclosed. The Arkansas wireless market covers Hempstead, Nevada, Lafayette and Columbia counties. Alltel will retain ownership of the wireless property in those counties that it operated prior to the merger with Western Wireless."

Posted to the site on 5th December 2005