AT&T To Acquire Cellular One, Expanded Rural Service Coming

[MacRumors]

Serving as welcome news to critics of AT&T's network (especially as the iPhone launches), AT&T has announced a deal to acquire Dobson Communications, which owns Cellular One.

Cellular One has a large rural network in Alaska, Arizona, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin, and uses the same GSM/EDGE technology that AT&T uses.

"This acquisition is an excellent fit for AT&T," said [Stan Sigman, president and CEO of AT&T Mobility]. "We've worked with Dobson for years. It's a good company, with great people, the same GSM/EDGE technology and coverage that dovetails almost perfectly with our own. We welcome the opportunity to serve Dobson's customers and look forward to a smooth transition thanks to Dobson's strong leadership and employee team."

[thisonechance]

Wow, that should make some people quite happy.

[longofest]

wish it came sooner. I'm about to go on vacation into a rural area of VA

Oh well.. Good news none-the-less

[Mgkwho]

Yeah, this is a good thing. I don't really have much more to say.

-=|Mgkwho

[nicshelbs]

is it going to help us activate our iPhones haha

[Quicksilver867]

If this brings decent coverage to most of Allegany county (NY), it would be great.

[Mac-Addict]

Is this going to become AT&Trumors.com? But still, I suppose it is good news.

[cjewby]

Great news for these people - http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=322266

[TDM21]

This is pretty good news, but it will just allow AT&T to say they have coverage in these areas. It probably won't bring any new towers or anything. Cellular One piggy backs off of AT&T's network in a majority of areas in the US; including where I live in Kentucky/Tennessee.

The will be one down side though. Cellular one uses unlocked GSM phones in my area. Now I will have to deal with all the hassle to get my phone unlocked if I want to use it in Europe.

[The3nd]

Cellar one is AllTell

[mauiboy10]

I read on another forum about a guy who called his ATT/Cingular rep and was told that even though he didn't live in a coverage area.....that he could still sign up to use his iPhone. The key, said the rep, was to have a nationwide plan......this allows for ATT customers to "piggyback" on another carrier.

I am wondering if anyone can confirm or deny this. I live in the northeast.

Thanks.

[smitha96]

Okay, great news for me as I am CellOne customer. But I can't find any information on a timeline for the transition...does anyone know or have a guess how long it will be before I can put an iPhone on my CellOne/ATT cell plan?

[kcroy]

I waited in line yesterday in Sandusky Ohio for my new iPhone. I was lucky number 13 in line. ATT store had ten 8Gs and ten 4Gs. I had to get a 4G (Giving it to my wife.) and I ordered an 8G for myelf.

So far coverage in Ohio has been very good. Glad to read Ohio's coverage is going to get even better. I was a little nervous when I saw the coverage map for Ohio. There are some cellular deserts on our map.

Anyone reading, that didn't get an iPhone yet let me just say that it is everything it claims to be and MORE. It is absolutely the coolest phone, BEST iPod, I've ever seen. Every feature on this phone is fantastic. Well worth the money. The iPod function alone is worth it.

Safari is incredible!!!!!!

My only problem so far is being unable to play a YouTube video. (Could be user error, but I doubt it.)

[zapp]

Originally Posted by mauiboy10

I read on another forum about a guy who called his ATT/Cingular rep and was told that even though he didn't live in a coverage area.....that he could still sign up to use his iPhone. The key, said the rep, was to have a nationwide plan......this allows for ATT customers to "piggyback" on another carrier.

I am wondering if anyone can confirm or deny this. I live in the northeast.

Thanks.

I live in northern maine, caribou, and I have at&t service. It is no problem, from the coverage maps, it tells me I am piggybacking on a partners network. The only bad thing that happens to me is sometimes I piggyback on rogers wireless (canadian) when I am near the border, and have roaming charges associated with that.

[Hmac]

Originally Posted by mauiboy10

I read on another forum about a guy who called his ATT/Cingular rep and was told that even though he didn't live in a coverage area.....that he could still sign up to use his iPhone. The key, said the rep, was to have a nationwide plan......this allows for ATT customers to "piggyback" on another carrier.

I am wondering if anyone can confirm or deny this. I live in the northeast.

Thanks.

Sure...that's what happens here all the time. We have very few AT&T towers, lots of Cellular One. My wife has T-Mobil and roams on Cellular One all the time. Both AT&T and T-Mobil work fine here, roaming on Cellular One towers, as long as you have a quad-band phone (like the iPhone or RAZR). No problem if you have a nationwide calling plan.

[pale9]

everytime it gets blown to pieces, it reorganizes itself. not that att is really evil, but the service there has always sucked. any slightly more complex than normal issue creates huge problems for its customer service staff. the classic run around iphone buyers are complaning about is a standard feature with att. this is exactly why i left them a few years back. i was happy to pay the early termination fee, just to get away from those bozos.

att is just about as innovative and customer friendly as the post office.

[Abercrombieboy]

Originally Posted by The3nd

Cellar one is AllTell

No it's not.

Alltel bought up some Cellular One properties (Western Wireless) a couple of years ago to expand, but Cellular One is actually a branding that many different wireless carriers use. Alltel is a CDMA provider and at their growth rate I don't think they are going anywhere.

[aLoC]

Don't tell me MacRumors is going to be full of tedious telecoms news from now on. They have endless takeovers and buyouts.

[iMeowbot]

Originally Posted by The3nd

Cellar one is AllTell

Was. They sold the name to Dobson a few years ago. Earlier the name had passed though the hands of a few unrelated mobile carriers.

Originally Posted by smitha96

Okay, great news for me as I am CellOne customer. But I can't find any information on a timeline for the transition...does anyone know or have a guess how long it will be before I can put an iPhone on my CellOne/ATT cell plan?

The press release does make it sound like this is a done deal, but regulators still need to weigh in. That will take until the end of this year, so it's reasonable to expect integration to happen later than that.

[longofest]

Originally Posted by aLoC

Don't tell me MacRumors is going to be full of tedious telecoms news from now on. They have endless takeovers and buyouts.

Probably not, but the timing was there to run a story this time. Besides, it has a pretty direct impact on iPhone customers, so there ya go.

[MichaelLatta]

Originally Posted by mauiboy10

I read on another forum about a guy who called his ATT/Cingular rep and was told that even though he didn't live in a coverage area.....that he could still sign up to use his iPhone. The key, said the rep, was to have a nationwide plan......this allows for ATT customers to "piggyback" on another carrier.

I am wondering if anyone can confirm or deny this. I live in the northeast.

Thanks.

The terms of the contract limit the number of off-network hours per month to 1/3 your minutes or 750 whichever is lower. If you exceed that for 2 months in a row they can terminate your service. They might not if you are spending enough over your used minutes, but they can.

[3Tabernacles]

Originally Posted by thisonechance

Wow, that should make some people quite happy.

yea, some people but no Vermont. What's up with the that state?

[mauiboy10]

Caribou? I'm in the midcoast (rockland)........ did you read what MICHAELLATTA had to say in a post after yours. In my case I'd be using the partnered networt all the time. I was worried there was a catch.

Do you sometimes use the ATT network and don't have to worry about using the partnered network too much?

If only Apple had partnered with VERIZON. Oh well.

[nydoofus]

Originally Posted by pale9

everytime it gets blown to pieces, it reorganizes itself. not that att is really evil, but the service there has always sucked. any slightly more complex than normal issue creates huge problems for its customer service staff. the classic run around iphone buyers are complaning about is a standard feature with att. this is exactly why i left them a few years back. i was happy to pay the early termination fee, just to get away from those bozos.

att is just about as innovative and customer friendly as the post office.

Stephen Colbert on AT&T

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...85759717366066

[saxman]

This is good news for me. AT&T service has been sketchy where I live. I'm in a rural area in the mid-west. There is a big Dobson/CellularOne tower about 1/2 mile from where I live. Maybe an iPhone would be feasible here after all. Hmmmmm