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Western Wireless Corporation was a cellular network operator that provided
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s service to subscribers in 19 western states and seven countries. Western Wireless marketed analog cellular service under the
CELLULAR ONE Cellular One is the trademarked brand name that licenses services (radio frequencies for telecommunications) used by several cellular service providers in the United States. The brand was sold to Trilogy Partners by AT&T in 2008 shortly after AT ...
brand in 88
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-defined rural service areas and digital PCS service under the
VoiceStream T-Mobile US, Inc. is an American wireless network operator headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas and Bellevue, Washington, U.S. Its largest shareholder is a multinational telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG, which , holds 48.4 perc ...
brand in 19 FCC-defined metropolitan service areas. At its peak in 2004, Western Wireless provided service to 1.4 million domestic subscribers. Western Wireless obtained additional revenue from the international operations of its Western Wireless International Corporation subsidiary, which was licensed to provide wireless communications services in seven countries to a total of 1.8 million subscribers. Western Wireless traces its roots to Stanton Communications, founded in 1988 by John W. Stanton and Theresa Gillespie. Western Wireless was formed in 1994 by the merger of two other Stanton controlled entities, Pacific Northwest Cellular and General Cellular Corporation. Western Wireless became a publicly traded company in 1996. Western Wireless spun off its VoiceStream Wireless subsidiary in 1999, which was later purchased by
Deutsche Telekom AG Deutsche Telekom AG (; short form often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a German telecommunications company that is headquartered in Bonn and is the largest telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. Deutsche Telekom was ...
in 2001. Deutsche Telekom renamed VoiceStream Wireless to
T-Mobile USA T-Mobile US, Inc. is an American wireless network operator headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in Johnson County, Kansas, it is one of four principal ...
in 2002. Western Wireless merged with Alltel Corporation in August 2005. After the merger, Alltel sold Western Wireless' international assets.


History

From its headquarters in Bellevue, Washington, United States, Western Wireless Corporation provided wireless communications service in 19 western states. The company initially specialized in providing cellular service to
rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...
areas under the Cellular One brand, but expanded into urban areas by acquiring PCS spectrum licenses, building out digital networks and providing services under the VoiceStream brand. Western Wireless traces its roots to Stanton Communications, founded by John W. Stanton and Theresa Gillespie in 1988. Stanton Communications invested in communications related businesses, including cellular, paging, telephone answering, alarm system monitoring, voice mail, radio broadcasting and private cable television. Stanton Communications invested in private cable television in the Soviet Union and cellular communications service in Hong Kong. Stanton was the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Pacific Northwest Cellular, established in 1992. The company grew to become the United States' eighth-largest independent cellular company. Stanton was elected chairman of the board of directors for General Cellular Corporation in 1992, when Stanton Communications and investment firm Hellman and Friedman acquired a controlling interest in the company. Stanton and Hellman and Friedman created Western Wireless Corporation in August, 1994 by merging Pacific Northwest Cellular and General Cellular Corporation. The merged entity took the name Western Wireless Corporation and through the merger created what the company called the "largest rural cellular-service provider in the United States." At the time of the merger, the company offered service in 16 western and mid-western states with service areas covering 5.2 million potential customers. Western Wireless became a publicly traded company in May 1996, offering 12.65 million shares traded on the NASDAQ under the stock ticker symbol WWCA. Combined with a separate public bond offering, the company raised US$430 million in net proceeds. On May 3, 1999, Western Wireless spun off its VoiceStream Wireless division to Western Wireless shareholders, creating an independent, publicly traded Delaware corporation called VoiceStream Wireless Corporation. Shares of VoiceStream Wireless traded on the NASDAQ under the stock ticker symbol VSTR. The spin off was intended to remove any
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, get better value recognition for each of Western Wireless' core analog cellular and digital PCS networks and help each business pursue independent strategies. VoiceStream was purchased by Deutsche Telekom in 2001 for
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30 billion and renamed
T-Mobile USA T-Mobile US, Inc. is an American wireless network operator headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in Johnson County, Kansas, it is one of four principal ...
in 2002. On January 9, 2005, Western Wireless entered into a merger agreement with
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-based telecommunications provider
Alltel Alltel Wireless was a wireless service provider, primarily based in the United States. Before acquisitions by Verizon Wireless and AT&T, it served 34 states and had approximately 13 million subscribers. As a regulatory condition of the acquisition ...
in which Alltel agreed to pay $6 billion in stock-and-
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to Western Wireless shareholders. Western Wireless shareholders voted on July 29, 2005, eleven years to the day after Western Wirless was incorporated, to accept a
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4.4 billion stock-and-cash offer from Alltel. The merger closed on August 1, 2005. At the time, the merger created the fifth largest wireless communications provider in the United States with 10 million customers in 33 states.


Western Wireless International

Western Wireless subsidiary Western Wireless International Corporation held mobile licenses in several countries outside the United States including:
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(Vega), Haiti (ComCel), Bolivia ( Viva),
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and
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covering about 1.8 million subscribers in 2005. After
Alltel Alltel Wireless was a wireless service provider, primarily based in the United States. Before acquisitions by Verizon Wireless and AT&T, it served 34 states and had approximately 13 million subscribers. As a regulatory condition of the acquisition ...
acquired Western Wireless, non-core international assets were sold. Alltel sold
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to Irish telecoms incumbent, eircom and sold Tele.Ring to
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. In Slovenia, the assets of Vega were split between the two main network operators.


See also

* i wireless


Notes


References

* * * * * * * {{Refend Alltel Defunct mobile phone companies of the United States Defunct companies based in Washington (state) Companies based in Bellevue, Washington Telecommunications companies established in 1988 Technology companies disestablished in 2005