FCC pushes back deadline on Rural Cellular deal

The FCC should have ruled Tuesday whether it would clear Verizon Wireless' bid to takeover Rural Cellular, however, the agency decided to delay the decision by at least three months. As part of the Rural Cellular acquisition, Verizon Wireless would have controlled Unicel, a local carrier in Vermont which enjoys a near monopoly in that state, according to reports. Groups in Vermont against the deal lobbied the FCC to delay the decision so that they could present their case better. The new deadline for comments on the deal is now February 11.

For more on the Rural Cellular deal:
- read this article from the Burlington Free Press