Unicel was a brand of

mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whi ...

service from Rural Cellular Corporation. Service was provided in northern

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

, northern

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Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

, eastern

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and

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, and adjacent areas. The company was headquartered in Alexandria, Minnesota. Until 2005, RCC also operated 850 MHz cellular service under the brand name Cellular 2000. On January 25, 2009

Verizon Wireless Verizon is an American wireless network operator that previously operated as a separate division of Verizon Communications under the name Verizon Wireless. In a 2019 reorganization, Verizon moved the wireless products and services into the div ...

officially took over all operations of Unicel. Unicel offers 850 MHz and 1900 MHz (

PCS A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or techn ...

) service largely using

GSM The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation ( 2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such ...

technology, but much of its

territory uses competing

cdmaOne Interim Standard 95 (IS-95) was the first ever CDMA-based digital cellular technology. It was developed by Qualcomm and later adopted as a standard by the Telecommunications Industry Association in TIA/EIA/IS-95 release published in 1995. Th ...

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 July 30, 2007, Rural Cellular Corporation announced it agreed to be acquired by

(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. 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 December 4, 2007,

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas ...

announced that it would swap some of its RCC properties with

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile ...

in exchange for some properties from Dobson Cellular, which AT&T recently acquired. On June 10, 2008, The Department of Justice has said that in order to acquire Rural Cellular Corporation, Verizon Wireless must divest some of RCC's existing wireless assets including Vermont, New York, and Washington states. The DOJ has filed a lawsuit that will force Verizon Wireless to comply with the divestiture before the acquisition can proceed. The FCC approved the acquisition on August 5, 2008. Approval depended on the sale of towers in six key market areas, including all of Vermont, in order to ensure that the acquisition wouldn't be anti-competitive in those areas. Verizon must also continue to maintain Unicel's GSM towers in other markets if it does not choose to sell them. On August 7, 2008,

announced they had completed the purchase of Rural Cellular Corporation for $2.66 billion in cash and assumed debt. On December 22, 2008, AT&T announced that it would complete its takeover of UNICEL's Vermont shares and begin to roll out its phones, brand and contracts to its wireless customers in Vermont, New York, and Washington State. UNICEL still offers phone service in two states as these areas were not included in the Verizon Wireless acquisition. UNICEL's service in these states will eventually change to a different wireless provider. As of August 24, 2011 the UNICEL website has been completely shut down.

References

{{US mobile phone companies Defunct mobile phone companies of the United States Defunct companies based in Minnesota Telecommunications companies established in 1990 Companies disestablished in 2008 Verizon Wireless