Carriers, Others Pan Roaming Deal Proposed By Verizon Wireless

Rural and regional wireless entities, public interest groups, and a state regulator say that Verizon Wireless’ new roaming commitment related to its planned acquisition of Alltel Corp. is inadequate, and some of the parties want the FCC to designate the license transfer applications for a hearing to review what they say are numerous unanswered questions about the transaction. They also reiterated that the Commission should impose a range of roaming and other conditions on the merger and should modify its roaming rules in another proceeding, including removing the in-market exception and adding data roaming.

In an Aug. 19 opposition to petitions to deny the transaction, Verizon Wireless and Atlantis Holdings LLC, Alltel’s parent company, said Verizon Wireless would retain the rates in roaming agreements that Alltel has with regional and small carriers for the term of the agreement, or two years, whichever is later. Last month, Verizon Wireless said that it would forego any rights to automatically terminate roaming agreements that carriers have with Alltel when the merger is completed, and it said it would also allow regional and rural providers that have roaming agreements with Verizon Wireless and Alltel to choose the terms of either accord.

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