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Log inCell merger might affect some Maine customers
Cell merger might affect some Maine customers
by Outspoken on Fri 23 May 2008 - 7:11
Cell merger might affect some Maine customers
Some Unicel subscribers could have to buy new phones once a merger with Verizon is completed.
By JUSTIN ELLIS
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
A pending merger of two national cell phone companies could affect thousands of Mainers, creating new dead spots for some users and forcing others to get new phones.
Verizon Wireless is buying Rural Cellular Corp., which operates Unicel in Maine. Though both companies have customers in the state, the two use different -- and incompatible -- cell-network technology.
Verizon, one of the nation's largest wireless carriers, uses Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology on its network. It's the same technology used by companies such as Virgin Mobile and Sprint.
Unicel employs a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) network.
Companies on GSM networks, including AT&T and T-Mobile, often have roaming contracts with other GSM carriers.
Handsets used with one kind of technology will not work on the other's network. Unicel phones would be useless on Verizon's CDMA system.
Verizon officials say they plan to upgrade Unicel's network but have not provided specifics.
The approach taken could determine whether out-of-network calls routed through the Unicel network could become more difficult for AT&T or T-Mobile users.
Unicel is one of the smaller wireless companies in Maine, but it provides important service to rural parts of the state, including western, central and northern Maine, said Wayne Jortner, senior counsel in the Maine Public Advocate's Office.
"It's one fewer player in the market" after the merger, said Jortner.
If Verizon replaces Unicel's network, Jortner said, customers may have to buy new phones. The phones could be offered at market prices, or Verizon might make them available at a reduced cost or for free when bundled with new service contracts.
The loss of a cell phone company in Maine also could mean less choice and higher prices -- particularly in rural parts of the state, Jortner said.
Rural Cellular has 716,000 customers in 15 states, and uses CDMA technology only in Minnesota.
Miriam Svobodny, spokeswoman for Rural Cellular, said Unicel has more than 250,000 customers in the Northeast. She declined to say how many are in Maine.
Verizon has more than 67 million subscribers nationwide.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=189515&ac=PHnws
Some Unicel subscribers could have to buy new phones once a merger with Verizon is completed.
By JUSTIN ELLIS
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
A pending merger of two national cell phone companies could affect thousands of Mainers, creating new dead spots for some users and forcing others to get new phones.
Verizon Wireless is buying Rural Cellular Corp., which operates Unicel in Maine. Though both companies have customers in the state, the two use different -- and incompatible -- cell-network technology.
Verizon, one of the nation's largest wireless carriers, uses Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology on its network. It's the same technology used by companies such as Virgin Mobile and Sprint.
Unicel employs a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) network.
Companies on GSM networks, including AT&T and T-Mobile, often have roaming contracts with other GSM carriers.
Handsets used with one kind of technology will not work on the other's network. Unicel phones would be useless on Verizon's CDMA system.
Verizon officials say they plan to upgrade Unicel's network but have not provided specifics.
The approach taken could determine whether out-of-network calls routed through the Unicel network could become more difficult for AT&T or T-Mobile users.
Unicel is one of the smaller wireless companies in Maine, but it provides important service to rural parts of the state, including western, central and northern Maine, said Wayne Jortner, senior counsel in the Maine Public Advocate's Office.
"It's one fewer player in the market" after the merger, said Jortner.
If Verizon replaces Unicel's network, Jortner said, customers may have to buy new phones. The phones could be offered at market prices, or Verizon might make them available at a reduced cost or for free when bundled with new service contracts.
The loss of a cell phone company in Maine also could mean less choice and higher prices -- particularly in rural parts of the state, Jortner said.
Rural Cellular has 716,000 customers in 15 states, and uses CDMA technology only in Minnesota.
Miriam Svobodny, spokeswoman for Rural Cellular, said Unicel has more than 250,000 customers in the Northeast. She declined to say how many are in Maine.
Verizon has more than 67 million subscribers nationwide.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=189515&ac=PHnws
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Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
