Western Wireless Corporation

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Western Wireless Corporation
Number of employees
2,495 (as of 2004-12-31)
SubsidiariesWestern Wireless International Corporation
VoiceStream Wireless
Footnotes / references
[1][2][3]

Western Wireless Corporation was a

VoiceStream
brand in 19 FCC-defined metropolitan service areas. At its peak in 2004, Western Wireless provided service to 1.4 million domestic subscribers. Western Wireless obtained additional revenue from the international operations of its Western Wireless International Corporation subsidiary, which was licensed to provide wireless communications services in seven countries to a total of 1.8 million subscribers.

Western Wireless traces its roots to Stanton Communications, founded in 1988 by

T-Mobile USA
in 2002.

Western Wireless merged with Alltel Corporation in August 2005. After the merger, Alltel sold Western Wireless' international assets.

History

From its headquarters in Bellevue, Washington, United States, Western Wireless Corporation provided wireless communications service in 19 western states. The company initially specialized in providing cellular service to

rural areas under the Cellular One brand, but expanded into urban areas by acquiring PCS spectrum licenses, building out digital networks and providing services under the VoiceStream brand.[4]

Western Wireless traces its roots to Stanton Communications, founded by John W. Stanton and Theresa Gillespie in 1988.[2][5] Stanton Communications invested in communications related businesses, including cellular, paging, telephone answering, alarm system monitoring, voice mail, radio broadcasting and private cable television. Stanton Communications invested in private cable television in the Soviet Union and cellular communications service in Hong Kong.[5]

Stanton was the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Pacific Northwest Cellular, established in 1992. The company grew to become the United States' eighth-largest independent cellular company.[5]

Stanton was elected chairman of the board of directors for General Cellular Corporation in 1992, when Stanton Communications and investment firm Hellman and Friedman acquired a controlling interest in the company.[5]

Stanton and

Hellman and Friedman created Western Wireless Corporation in August, 1994 by merging Pacific Northwest Cellular and General Cellular Corporation. The merged entity took the name Western Wireless Corporation and through the merger created what the company called the "largest rural cellular-service provider in the United States." At the time of the merger, the company offered service in 16 western and mid-western states with service areas covering 5.2 million potential customers.[1][2]

Western Wireless became a publicly traded company in May 1996, offering 12.65 million shares traded on the NASDAQ under the stock ticker symbol WWCA. Combined with a separate public bond offering, the company raised US$430 million in net proceeds.

On May 3, 1999, Western Wireless

T-Mobile USA in 2002.[2]

On January 9, 2005, Western Wireless entered into a merger agreement with

merger closed on August 1, 2005. At the time, the merger created the fifth largest wireless communications provider in the United States with 10 million customers in 33 states.[2]

Western Wireless International

Western Wireless subsidiary Western Wireless International Corporation held mobile licenses in several countries outside the United States including:

Cote d'Ivoire covering about 1.8 million subscribers in 2005.[2]

After

eircom and sold Tele.Ring to T-Mobile Austria
. In Slovenia, the assets of Vega were split between the two main network operators.

See also

  • i wireless

Notes

  1. ^ a b Corr 1994.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Duryee 2005.
  3. ^ SEC 2005.
  4. ^ SEC 1996.
  5. ^ a b c d Harvard Business School 2011.
  6. ^ FCC 2001.
  7. ^ Heberlein 1998.

References

  • Corr, O. Casey (1994-08-10). "Pacific Northwest Cellular, General Cellular Merge". The Seattle Times. The Seattle Times Company. Bloomberg Business News. Archived from the original on 2012-10-01. Retrieved 2011-03-09. Pacific Northwest Cellular and General Cellular Corp....said they have combined to form a wireless telephone company....The new Bellevue-based company, Western Wireless Corp....
  • Duryee, Tricia (2005-07-29). "Western Wireless vote falls on key day". The Seattle Times. The Seattle Times Company. Archived from the original on 2007-07-06. Retrieved 2011-03-11. Western Wireless shareholders will vote today on whether to sell the wireless carrier to Alltel — exactly 11 years ago to the day that the Bellevue company was founded.
  • Heberlein, Greg (1998-11-15). "Analysts Say Spinoff Plan Makes Western Wireless More Attractive". The Seattle Times. The Seattle Times Company. Archived from the original on 2012-10-02. Retrieved 2011-04-28. A spinoff would not only rid the shares of any conglomerate discount and help get better value recognition for each of the core PCS and cellular businesses...but presumably help each pursue different strategic agendas.
  • "Entrepreneurship - Rock Center - Advisory Board". hbs.edu. President & Fellows of Harvard College. 2011. Archived from the original on 2004-03-09. Retrieved 2011-03-11. In 1988 John Stanton and Theresa Gillespie formed Stanton Communications which invested in businesses in various segments of the communications industry...
  • "Form 10-K for the Year Ended December 31, 1996". sec.gov. United States Securities and Exchange Commission. 1997-03-31. Archived from the original on 2011-06-28. Retrieved 2011-03-11. The Company operates its cellular systems under the CELLULAR ONE(R) brand name and operates its PCS markets under its proprietary VoiceStream(R) brand name.
  • "Form 10-K for the Year Ended December 31, 2004". sec.gov. United States Securities and Exchange Commission. 2005-03-16. Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2011-03-11. As of December 31, 2004, we employed domestically a total of 2,495 people in the following areas:...
  • "Memorandum Opinion and Order FCC 01-142" (PDF). fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. 2001-04-27. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2004-02-23. Retrieved 2011-05-06. VoiceStream is a publicly-traded Delaware corporation, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington
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