Verizon Wireless has been looking for every way possible to still call itself No. 1 after AT&T
The deal was formally announced only hours after rumors broke of a potential deal. Verizon Wireless -- a joint venture between Verizon Communications
Investors' reaction to the deal was positive immediately after the announcement, with shares of Verizon Communications bumping up by more than 5% in the morning. While the deal will put Verizon Wireless deeper in debt, investors are likely most optimistic about the extra leverage that additional scale will bring.
Verizon and Alltel share a common network technology -- a standard called CDMA that was developed and championed by Qualcomm
Verizon Wireless' assumption of even more customers will expand its leverage to drive the industry as well, helping it dictate what an open network is, and keeping computing heavyweights like Google
The deal is not in the bag, and it'll certainly draw scrutiny from antitrust regulators. Still, I expect it will go through by the end of 2008, as the company projects. Then Verizon will once again have bragging rights -- at least until the next big buyout comes along.
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