Ramcell

Small operator extinction

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 06:59:54 -0500

Over the past year we saw many operators snatch up smaller players in an effort to increase their footprint and continue their strong subscriber growth. It's clearly more economical for large operators to deploy new technologies in rural markets than for small operators with tiny footprints and less buying power.

Some purchases were quite small such as Leap buying Hargray Wireless for $30 million, Verizon Wireless snapping up Ramcell for an undisclosed amount and AT&T purchasing its remaining stake in Edge Wireless, a long-time affiliate in the Pacific Northwest. Others were more substantial such as AT&T acquiring Dobson Communications for $2.8 billion, Verizon buying Rural Cellular Corp. for $2.67 billion and T-Mobile USA snapping up SunCom Wireless for $2.4 billion.

For vendors the shrinking base of Tier 2 and Tier 3 carriers means fewer customers to buy their equipment. Obviously if you're a vendor with a Tier 1 customer base, this isn't a problem. But for smaller vendors, the Tier 3 carriers often offered them a chance to get a foothold in the market. -Sue

Small operator death knell

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 06:59:59 -0500

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Small operator death knellÃ‚Â
Over the past few months we've seen a flurry of operator acquisitions. Some were quite small such as Leap buying Hargray Wireless for $30 million and Verizon Wireless snapping up Ramcell for an undisclosed amount. Others were more substantial such as AT&T acquiring Dobson Communications for $2.8 billion, Verizon buying Rural Cellular Corp. for $2.67 billion and T-Mobile USA snapping up SunCom Wireless for $2.4 billion.Ã‚Â

Just last week AT&T purchased the remaining stake in Edge Wireless, a long-time AT&T affiliate with about 172,000 subscribers in several markets in the Pacific Northwest. The amount of the acquisition wasn't disclosed yet. The deal is expected to close in 2008.

It's clear that building a bigger footprint is the basis for this buying spree among the large operators. As penetration rates climb, operators have to expand their footprint into rural and suburban markets to maintain their growth.

These acquisitions also eliminate roaming fees and reduce operating costs. It's more economical for a large operator to deploy new technologies in rural markets than for small operators with tiny footprints and less buying power. It's also tough for small operators to get the latest handsets from the manufacturers. Small operators don't have the buying power or the volume to cut exclusive deals with handset makers so they are often left with last-year's handset models.

Nevertheless I'm saddened by this trend. Many small operators are more entrepreneurial and innovative than their larger counterparts. For example, Kentucky-based Bluegrass Cellular offered push-to-talk and multimedia messaging before many of its larger counterparts. Midwest Wireless (before it was acquired by Alltel) experimented with a fixed wireless offering that competed with DSL and cable-modem service providers. Others, such as Cellular South differentiate themselves from their Tier 1 competitors by offering stellar customer service and strong ties to the community.

For vendors this trend means fewer customers to buy their equipment. Obviously if you're a vendor with a Tier 1 customer base, this isn't a problem. But for smaller vendors the Tier 3 carriers offer them a chance to get a foothold in the market.

I hope some small operators are able to survive this acquisition trend. Without them, I think this market is much less dynamic. -Sue

U.S. Cellular for sale next?

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 06:59:56 -0400

Following news that Alltel's shareholders have greenlit its acquisition by private equity firms, Wall Street is speculating that another regional carrier is set to be acquired, this time U.S. Cellular. An acquisition of the the rural would follow the recent buyouts of Ramcell, Rural Cellular, Dobson and Alltel. Sprint Nextel has also long been rumored to be an acquisition target since it merged with Nextel in 2005. Analysts have not pointed to any specific buyers of U.S. Cellular, but Sprint has been floated as a possibility since such an acquisition would make it closer in size to its two biggest competitors. U.S. Cellular claims to have about 6 million subscribers.

For more on U.S. Cellular's rumored sale:
- read this article from Forbes

DEALS: VZW scoops up Ramcell assets

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 06:59:52 -0400

Verizon Wireless keeps the rural carrier acquisition trend afloat.

DEALS
WHO	WITH	WHAT	SCOOP
Verizon Wireless	Ramcell	Verizon Wireless has acquired Ramcell's Kentucky and Oregon networks.	The deal does not include Ramcell's North Carolina assets.
Sprint Nextel	GE Healthcare	Sprint is teaming up with GE Healthcare to bring wireless services to hospitals.	The JV will offer an in-building cellular communications network from GE Healthcare and Sprint's Custom Network Solution (CNS) team that makes use of GE's CARESCAPE Enterprise Access wireless platform, as well as Sprint handsets.
Nortel	Universities	Nortel is teaming up with various universities to develop 4G networking technology.	The universities are: University of Waterloo in Canada, The University of Texas at Austin, the National Taiwan University in Taiwan and Technische Universitaet IImenau in Germany.

Verizon Wireless scoops up rural's assets in KY, OR

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 06:59:57 -0400

First AT&T acquired Dobson, then Verizon Wireless bought Rural Cellular, and now Verizon Wireless has acquired yet another (albeit smaller) rural carrier's assets: Ramcell. The deal includes Ramcell's assets in Kentucky and Oregon, but apparently not its North Carolina assets. No financial deals were released about the deal.

The acquisition includes Ramcell's spectrum licenses, 51 cell sites and related operations. The spectrum licenses cover 300,000 people in Kentucky and 274,000 people in Oregon. No word on how many subscribers Verizon Wireless will add as a result of the deal. Verizon Wireless plans on converting Ramcell's TDMA network in Kentucky to CDMA with EV-DO Rev. A technology, which it should complete by mid-2008. Ramcell's Oregon network is already CDMA-based, but will still get an EV-DO Rev. A upgrade.

Ramcell's website announced that all store locations in the two states would close down by June 30th, 2007, however the carrier did provide instructions and locations for paying bills and adding minutes to prepaid plans. By presstime Verizon Wireless had not responded to inquiries about why Ramcell had closed its retail stores.

For more on the deal:
- read this press release