AT&T announced its acquisition of Centennial Wireless is now complete. The acquisition adds 893K wireless customers to AT&T’s footprint. “The addition of Centennial will enhance AT&T’s assets in wireless — a strategic priority and one of our biggest growth drivers — and service for customers of both companies,” said Ralph de la Vega, president and chief executive officer of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. The acquisition also adds some wireline assets in Puerto Rico.
AT&T says it will move quickly to rebrand Centennial as AT&T. For 3G, “…AT&T plans to deploy 3G at more than 200 sites in Centennial’s markets. This deployment plan includes adding 3G capabilities at more than 100 sites and expanding 3G coverage and capacity at approximately 100 sites.”
To gain regulatory approval for the acquisition, AT&T agreed to divest from eight markets, including Alexandria, La., Lafayette, La., LA-3 (DeSoto), LA-5 (Beauregard), LA-6 (Iberville), LA-7 (West Feliciana), MS-8 (Claiborne) and MS-9 (Copiah). As a part of that divestment, Verizon Wireless will be taking over those operations in Lafayette, La., LA-5 (Beauregard), LA-6 (Iberville), LA-7 (West Feliciana) and MS-8 (Claiborne).
In order to get the deal approved, AT&T also agreed to maintain existing roaming agreements. According to their press release, “AT&T will honor existing roaming agreements with other carriers for the life of the contract — or, for carriers with fewer than 10 million subscribers, will maintain the roaming agreement for at least four years or the full term of the agreement with Centennial, whichever is longer.”
Consolidation among tier 2 and 3 wireless carriers continues. Who will be next?
