Where is alltel still operating

For many customers, that suits them just fine. In fact, with an increasing number of complaints from the The demise of Alltel is another classic example of a telecommunications deal that made sense and dollars for Wall Street and a handful of Alltel executives, but left thousands of employees out in the cold in the unemployment line and customers coping with broken promises and higher bills.

That these deals get almost routine approval from the Federal Communications Commission is ironic, considering that same agency commissioned studies that unsurprisingly found increased consolidation and lack of competition in the wireless marketplace. The end of Alltel is a great example of what happens when an industry achieves near-total deregulation.

Lobbyists sell deregulation as directly benefiting consumers with increased competition, more innovation, and lower prices. In reality, from broadcasting to broadband, deregulation sparks escalating rounds of mergers, acquisitions, and buyouts.

When Wall Street speaks, most of these companies listen. Since , when the Telecommunications Act was passed, more than two dozen telecommunications companies have been swallowed up in mergers and buyouts. Consumers find themselves with new providers and higher bills. But not everyone is hurting from laissez-faire tele-economics. For a handful of top executives, the result has been riches beyond their wildest dreams.

Even when they are forced out through merger deals, the golden parachutes that follow brings tears of joy. Back then, telephone service in the U. In , Alltel — the traditional phone company — was created from a merger between Allied Telephone and Mid-Continent Telephone. In , Alltel Wireless service began from its first cellular system in Charlotte, N. Just about everything in the telecommunications industry changed with the passage of the Telecommunications Act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton.

Important consumer protections were discarded along the way. The implications of the Act were well understood by corporate executives in the industry, and companies spent millions to lobby for its passage. They considered it a down-payment for better days to come. Ford noted the passage of the law changed everything, even leading to a violation of an agreement he made with his son when he was only 12 years old:.

Scott T. Ford, the president and chief executive officer of the Alltel Corporation, made his first business deal at the age of 12 with his father, Joe T. The two agreed that Scott would never work at Alltel. Joe wanted to spare his son what he himself had endured since coming to work for his father-inlaw, Hugh Wilbourne Jr.

After the passage of the Telecommunications Act of , however, the Fords rethought their agreement, and, at age 35, Scott Ford became executive vice president of Alltel. All that hard work by earlier generations was about to pay some serious dividends in a laissez-faire telecommunications world. Beebe literally drew his own road map depicting his idea of success - remaining on top after a flurry of mergers and ongoing industry consolidation.

At the end of the 20th century, the telecommunications industry was in the middle of the dot. The impact of the Telecom Act did fuel change among traditional telecom companies.

While some new players were wildly upgrading networks and building fiber optic networks to sustain the dot. Independent phone companies which operated for a century were suddenly the targets of buyouts, now consolidated by regional players like CenturyTel, Embarq, Alltel and Citizens. It also bought wireless providers and soon merged its landline and wireless divisions into a single company. He literally drew his own road map showing his route to success, depicting himself on top after successive mergers with smaller players.

Unfortunately, the high-powered, cash rich days of the dot. By the start of the new century, it was all over. An oversupply of infrastructure was built to support web-based businesses that would never launch. Many of those already in business shuttered their virtual doors. Venture capital for telecommunications projects dried up. But there was still plenty of money to be made in wireless, and Alltel did obtain financing to launch mergers and buyouts with as many small cell phone providers as possible.

The business of mergers and acquisitions earned countless millions for Wall Street banks, who charged fees to help structure the deals and usually helped finance them.

Executives always won, even if a merger brought an end to their career at the company. Golden parachutes kept the top floor happy. The only losers were the soon-to-be-ex-employees and middle management declared redundant and escorted from the building. Meanwhile, customers were stuck dealing with the transition changes, service interruptions, and the eventually higher bill that always result from reduced competition. During the first half of this decade, it was Alltel doing the acquiring — spending fortunes to acquire other regional wireless phone companies:.

By , Alltel had become the fifth largest telecommunications company in the country, with operations in 34 states. Thanks to lengthy roaming agreements with Sprint and Verizon Wireless, Alltel could deliver national service even from a regional network. Alltel also enjoyed a satisfied customer base, thanks to innovative calling plans and services that were unheard of from other cell companies.

In , it introduced the popular My Circle calling plan, which allowed customers to make unlimited wireless calls to up to ten numbers, regardless of whether they were landlines or other Alltel wireless customers.

That same year, U Prepaid was introduced, which included unlimited calling and text messaging to a pre-designated number — perfect for those needing to call home.

Until the Telecom Act, most publicly-owned telephone companies were considered a safe utility stock. The companies were hardly growth hotbeds, traditionally serving communities that saw little growth and lots of expenses from the wide-open country they had to wire. After deregulation, venture capital moved aggressively into the wireless and cable sectors. Check out some of our greatest hits below, explore the categories listed on the left-hand side of the page, or head to CR.

But, like a shell game, this is the fun part where you try to track the comings and goings of companies and their names amid all the wireless market consolidation. Yes, Verizon did in fact purchase Alltel back in the deal closed in early , but as part of that deal, Verizon had to divest itself of various holdings in certain parts of the country. According to the AP , that Alltel network actually covers around 4.

Verizon has available. T-Mobile successfully acquired Sprint as of April 1, becoming one company and effectively bringing the total number of major US cell carriers from four down to three.

At least for now. And as of August 3, the Sprint brand is officially no more. Sprint will be absorbed by T-Mobile, and eventually Sprint customers will migrate to the T-Mobile network.

T-Mobile will not raise prices for existing customers in the next three years. This includes people on T-Mobile, Sprint, and prepaid plans. Under the terms of the transaction, Sprint shareholders will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 0. Buying stocks ahead of a merger is risky business. Simply put: the spike in trading volume tends to inflate share prices.