| Verizon Wireless acquired Alltel for $5.9 billion. It also | | | | Commission and the Justice Department, Verizon |
| picked up Alltel's existing debts to the tune of $22 | | | | needs to divest 105 market locations. It goes without |
| billion, making the entire acquisition worth more than | | | | saying that most of them would be Alltel operations. |
| $27 billion. This made Verizon the largest mobile | | | | It is obvious that most of the Alltel stores would be |
| phone company in the United States. With the | | | | affected. Though Verizon has not yet decided which |
| inclusion of Alltel, Verizon now has a customer base | | | | stores it will keep, a lot depends on the location and |
| of 84 million. With services in 33 states, mainly in the | | | | the customer base the store carries. |
| South, Midwest, and West, Alltel is one of the largest | | | | All the Alltel retail stores will not close all at once. A |
| CDMA carriers. Up to the time of the acquisition, you | | | | lot will depend on the location of the store and in |
| could purchase Alltel products through the Alltel | | | | what city it is. But these stores will be integrated into |
| stores in your locality. | | | | the Verizon stores, in due course. As of now, the |
| Alltel retail stores would still be operational. But with | | | | Alltel retail stores which have not yet been integrated |
| time, there would be operational changes in these | | | | are still dealing in Alltel products. |
| stores. | | | | Verizon uses the Evolution Data Optimized network |
| This Is Inevitable | | | | (EVDO) as its high speed data network. It has |
| In due course all the retail stores dealing in Alltel | | | | already started working on Alltel's towers to upgrade |
| products would start providing Verizon services and | | | | them to work with its EVDO network. You can still |
| start stocking their phones. Changes have started to | | | | visit the Alltel retail stores and pick up the Alltel |
| occur already and are the noticeable effects of the | | | | phones that work with Alltel's high speed EVDO |
| acquisition. It is inevitable that an Alltel retail store | | | | network. This will ensure that your phones will still |
| existing in the same shopping mall that also has a | | | | work with Verizon network when Alltel is finally |
| Verizon store would shut down. | | | | integrated. After acquiring Alltel for $27 billion, Verizon |
| Verizon has assured its customer base, which now | | | | is going to do everything to ensure it does not lose |
| includes Alltel customers, that their area stores are | | | | Alltel's customer base of 13 million customers. |
| capable of dealing with Alltel services and products. | | | | It is expected that Alltel's billing system would be |
| Verizon is still in the process of deciding which of the | | | | integrated into Verizon's billing system at the earliest. |
| services and products - of both the companies - it | | | | Alltel retail stores would be re-modelled and carry |
| intends to retain. Verizon would like to retain the | | | | Verizon signs. By and by Alltel signs will disappear and |
| 'good' of the two companies and discard the 'bad'. | | | | be taken over by Verizon. |
| As required by the Federal Communications | | | | |