Alltel

Last updated
Alltel
Company type Private
Industry Telecommunications
Founded1943;81 years ago (1943) in Little Rock, Arkansas
FounderAllen Schaffer
Defunct2016;8 years ago (2016)
FateDissolved by AT&T
Successor Windstream
Verizon Wireless
AT&T Mobility
Headquarters Little Rock, Arkansas, United States
Key people
 Allen M Schaffer, CEO
Products Landline, Wireless
Website [Former official site]

Alltel was a landline, wireless and general telecommunications services provider, primarily based in the United States. Before its wireless division was acquired by Verizon Wireless and AT&T, Alltel provided cellular service to 34 states and had approximately 13 million subscribers. As a regulatory condition of the acquisition by Verizon, a small portion of Alltel was spun off and continued to operate under the same name in six states, mostly in rural areas. [1] Following the merger, Alltel remained the ninth largest wireless telecommunications company in the United States, with approximately 800,000 customers. [2] On January 22, 2013, AT&T announced they were acquiring what remained of Alltel from Atlantic Tele-Network for $780 million in cash. [3]

Contents

At its peak, Alltel operated a network in 34 states, with a wireless coverage footprint comprising the largest network in the United States by area. The company focused on small to medium size cities providing wireless services to residential and business customers in all 50 states through roaming agreements with Verizon and Sprint. These agreements gave Alltel customers access to nationwide service, while providing those carriers coverage in rural areas.

On June 5, 2008, Verizon Wireless announced it would acquire the majority of Alltel Wireless in a deal valued at $28.1 billion. The merger was approved by the Federal Communications Commission on the condition that Verizon divest 105 Alltel markets. On May 8, 2009, AT&T announced it would acquire 79 of the divested wireless properties, including licenses, network assets, and 1.5 million current subscribers, primarily in rural areas across 18 states. [4]

On April 26, 2010, Atlantic Tele-Network acquired the remaining 26 divested Alltel markets, including licenses, network assets and 800,000 subscribers. [5] These remaining markets continued to be operated by Allied Wireless, a subsidiary of ATN, under the Alltel name. [6] On September 20, 2013, AT&T announced they had completed the acquisition of Alltel from Atlantic Tele-Network. AT&T immediately began plans to upgrade the former Alltel network and to move customers to the AT&T network by midyear 2014. [7] The transition completed in February 2015 with all Alltel customers becoming a part of the AT&T network. In early 2016, AT&T dissolved Alltel Wireless.

History

In 1943, the Allied Telephone Company, a small business specializing in installing telephone poles and cabling for telephone companies across Arkansas, was founded by Charles Miller and Hugh Willbourn, Jr. In 1945, they opened a storefront in the Hillcrest district of Little Rock. The business sold electrical appliances in the front of the building, and the company enabled Wilbourn and Miller to buy telephone equipment wholesale.

Alltel's modern history begins in 1983 when Allied Telephone and Mid-Continent Telephone merged. Mid-Continent Telephone was originally a theatre company and started in 1931 by Eddie Ruben and Joe L. Floyd in Minnesota. In 1985, Alltel launched its first wireless system in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1993, Alltel opened its first wireless retail store. In 1997, the company's wireless and wireline businesses were combined into a single organization.

On December 9, 2005, Alltel announced that it would become a wireless-only company, simultaneously merging and building a spin-off company for its wireline services. [8] The wireline services business of Alltel merged with Valor Telecom and was named Windstream Communications on April 10, 2006. The merger-spinoff process ended July 17, 2006 when Windstream began operations. [9]

Alltel's old logo (prior to 2005) Alltel 1997.svg
Alltel's old logo (prior to 2005)

On May 20, 2007, Alltel announced an agreement to be sold to two private-equity firms: TPG Capital and GS Capital Partners. Under the deal, the two firms paid $71.50 a share in cash, or $27.5 billion, a 10% premium over Alltel's May 18, 2007 closing price. [10]

Mergers and acquisitions

1990

1997

  • Standard Group, Inc. (Cornelia, Georgia) – merger adds more than 71,000 local telephone lines
  • Aliant Communications (Lincoln, Nebraska) – $1.8 billion merger
  • Liberty Cellular (Kansas) – $600 million merger

1998

  • 360 Communications (Illinois) – wireless properties and assets, merger adds 2.6 million customers in 15 states

2000

2002

2003

2005

2006

  • First Cellular of Southern Illinois (Illinois) – Alltel purchased First Cellular for $14-15 million in cash.
  • Palmetto MobileNet, L.P. (North Carolina) (South Carolina) – Alltel purchased from Palmetto MobileNet, L.P. wireless partnerships that cover approximately 2.3 million people in North and South Carolina. Alltel already managed and owned 50 percent of each of the 10 partnerships and has purchased the remaining interests from Palmetto. The partnerships include 34 counties across South Carolina and seven counties in Western North Carolina.
  • Midwest Wireless (Minnesota) – Alltel purchased Midwest Wireless for $1.083 billion in cash, adding 433,000 wireless customers
  • In Summer 2006 Alltel's Simple Freedom Wireless, customers were migrated in non-Alltel markets. (see article below)

2007

  • Alltel agrees to be acquired by TPG Capital and GS Capital Partners, the private equity division of Goldman Sachs for $27.5 billion. [11]
  • Simple Freedom Wireless merges with Alltel "U Prepaid" to form Alltel U Personalized Prepaid.
  • Simple Freedom Wireless customers in ( Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, & Florida) are merged with Verizon Wireless Prepaid.

2008

2009

  • Verizon Wireless closes merger on January 9.
  • AT&T announces acquisition of 79 of the 105 divested markets.
  • Atlantic Tele-Network announces acquisition of the remaining 26 divested markets.

2010

  • Atlantic Tele-Network completes acquisition of 26 markets and continues to operate as Alltel in six states.
  • Element Mobile buys RSA #7, the remaining Alltel customers in Central Wisconsin.

2013

  • AT&T Mobility completes acquisition of AWCC/Alltel from ATNI on September 30.

2016

Executive team (after ATN acquisition)

Executive team (after AT&T acquisition)

Wireless network technology

Alltel's networks consisted of analog and digital systems operating primarily on the 850 MHz (3GPP2 Band Class 0) cellular band, much like Verizon Wireless. Native Alltel markets consisted of both analog (AMPS) and digital (CDMA) technologies. Virtually 100 percent of markets had been outfitted with 3G 1xEV-DO digital technology, which allows for additional battery life and faster download times when using Internet or BREW-based applications. [12] Alltel posted a three phase turn down schedule [13] in response to the FCC decision stating that by March 1, 2008 A and B side carriers are no longer required to support analog. The analog systems were retired by the end of 2008. While Alltel had not outlined its future path, merger partner Verizon Wireless had already announced plans to switch to GSM-based LTE.

Wireless network coverage

There were Alltel-owned and -operated networks in parts of 6 states. Alltel utilized roaming agreements with competing providers to provide coast-to-coast service. Roaming agreements in the United States were primarily with Verizon and Sprint until the completion of the migration of all customers to the AT&T network.

Handset and technical specifics

Wireless services

Commercials

After Alltel's November 2004 announcement that Campbell-Ewald of Detroit would be their primary advertising agency, [18] Alltel used lookalikes of rival cell phone companies' primary advertising characters along with Alltel's spokesman, [19] played by comedian Chad Brokaw. [20] After competing networks complained, [21] the promotional campaign featured this notice on television and the website: "Our lawyers would like to inform you some of the characters you see here are not associated with Alltel. They are look-alikes. The characters, not our lawyers." In the first commercial, at an Alltel store, Alltel representative Chad spoke to representatives of five competitors to his circle. A second commercial was set in a bowling alley. The third commercial took place in a court room, with the faces of the other carriers blurred. [22] In "The Century's Trial of the Century", Edward Maxwell Von Houten, attorney for the People Against My Circle Foundation, sued Chad for attempting to force people into calling circles. [23]

After that, Alltel started a series of commercials involving Chad, bragging about Alltel's service and using the theme music "Come and Get Your Love". The parodied competitors, called "Sales Guys" are perpetually frustrated by their failures and less popularity, even going so far as to harass and threaten him, albeit with less than effective results. The Sales Guys are played by professional actors Matthew Brent (Verizon), Scott Halberstadt (Cingular/AT&T), Ian Gould (T-Mobile), and Michael Busch (Sprint), [20] who was later replaced by Adam Herschman. [24] Each representative wears a shirt with the color of the company they represent, as well as name tags to represent their company. Most ads in 2007 had the Cingular/AT&T guy wearing two name tags—one each for Cingular & AT&T—while that brand was transiting to AT&T. As of 2008, they added a snobbish wizard into the ads. The Christmas 2007/2008 ads uses stop-motion animation, parodying the Rankin-Bass Christmas specials.

The campaign included a MySpace page, and Campbell-Ewald Digital created The Man Cave with its own web site. [19] The fourth and fifth commercials features employees of other carriers' mall stores trying to convince Chad to end My Circle with $8.00. The sixth has Chad giving RAZRs as Christmas gifts to them. Since this service and advertising campaign started, other carriers started adding similar services. For example, T-Mobile introduced "My Faves" in the fall of 2006.[ citation needed ]

In 2010, markets sold to Verizon Wireless aired a special commercial with both Chad and Paul Marcarelli as the real "Verizon Guy". Alltel and Chad produced a Christmas edition commercial later that year for remaining Alltel markets, featured at Longbranch Coffee House located in Carbondale, Illinois.

Sponsorships

Former structure naming rights

Racing Teams

NASCAR

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References

  1. ↑ "Alltel Wireless to Continue Service to Wireless Customers in portions of central Georgia". Cordele Dispatch. July 27, 2010. Archived from the original on 2011-01-17.
  2. ↑ "Alltel Names Lives on in Allied Wireless". Talk Business. June 27, 2010. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24.
  3. ↑ "AT&T to Acquire Wireless Spectrum and Assets from Atlantic Tele-Network, Inc., Enhance Wireless Coverage in Rural Areas".
  4. ↑ "AT&T Press Release Headlines & News from AT&T".
  5. ↑ "Atlantic Tele-Network Completes Acquisition of Former Alltel Assets from Verizon Wireless". FierceWireless. Archived from the original on 2011-09-30.
  6. ↑ "Alltel lives on in Allied Wireless". Arkansas Online. 2010-10-03.
  7. ↑ "AT&T Completes Acquisition of Alltel Assets; Provides Third-Quarter Update on Strong Smartphone and U-verse Sales". AT&T.
  8. ↑ "Alltel Spins Off Wireline Business and Merges It with VALOR, Creates New Rural-Focused Wireline Company" (Press release). Little Rock, AR: Alltel. December 9, 2005. Archived from the original on October 21, 2007. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  9. ↑ "Alltel completes spinoff and merger of its wireline business with VALOR Communications" (Press release). Little Rock, AR: Alltel. July 17, 2006. Archived from the original on November 3, 2007. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  10. ↑ "Goldman Sachs buys Alltel for $27.5 billion". Seattle Times. May 21, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-05-23.
  11. ↑ Nystedt, Dan (2007-05-21). "Mobile provider Alltel agrees to $27.5B buyout". Computerworld . Archived from the original on 2007-10-14. Retrieved 2007-05-21.
  12. ↑ "IR Services | Morningstar U.S". Ccbn.10kwizard.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-07. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
  13. ↑ Analog Sunset Information
  14. ↑ "Alltel introduces new prepaid wireless service that's all about 'U'" (Press release). LITTLE ROCK, Ark: Alltel. January 30, 2005. Archived from the original on 2007-10-21. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  15. ↑ Alltel Wi-Fi [ permanent dead link ]
  16. ↑ Internet Access
  17. ↑ Internet Access
  18. ↑ "ALLTEL Selects Campbell-Ewald to Handle Brand Advertising" . Retrieved 2008-03-26.
  19. 1 2 Levere, Jane L. (August 7, 2007). "In Wireless Competition, Mockery Is the Latest Style". New York Times. p. C7.
  20. 1 2 Williams, Greg. "Chad's Circle". The Tampa Tribune. Archived from the original on 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
  21. ↑ Belson, Ken (October 2, 2006). "Cellphone Carriers Focus Ads on Each Other". New York Times. p. C7.
  22. ↑ "www.ringtoneshuffle.com" . Retrieved 2008-03-26.
  23. ↑ Lavallee, Andrew (August 3, 2006). "Alltel Spoofs Itself in Online Ads, But Not Everyone Gets the Joke". Wall Street Journal.
  24. ↑ Couch, Steve (2008-03-27). "Hey! What happened to the Sprint guy?". The News-Herald .
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