Leap to Buy Hargray's Wireless Business

Low-cost cell phone service provider Leap Wireless International Inc. said Wednesday it agreed to buy the wireless assets of Hargray Communications Group Inc. for $30 million, bringing its Cricket service to the Savannah, Ga. and Hilton Head, S.C. areas.

As part of the deal, Leap's Cricket Communications Inc. unit will buy Hargray Wireless LLC, including its 15 megahertz wireless spectrum license, its wireless network and most of its customer base.

Leap Chief Executive Doug Hutcheson said the acquisition will help the company enter the market faster and "avoid much of the cost associated with building a market from the ground up."

"Hargray's footprint in the Savannah, Hilton Head and surrounding areas complement our newly launched Charleston, S.C., market as well as our existing Carolinas cluster," he said in a statement.

The company expects to close the purchase in the first half of 2008.

Leap provides unlimited wireless service for a flat fee, with no required credit checks or long-term contracts.