Justice Department Requires Verizon Wireless to Sell Assets in Deal for Rural Cellular

Verizon Wireless must sell assets in six markets in Vermont, New York and Washington state to complete its $757 million acquisition of Rural Cellular Corp., the Justice Department announced Tuesday. The DOJ will require Verizon to sell off Unicel's mobile phone infrastructure in six geographic areas in Vermont, New York state and Washington state, including Burlington, Vermont, the agency said. The DOJ's Antitrust Division filed a civil lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, asking the court to block the proposed acquisition unless Verizon agrees to the DOJ's recommendations. The DOJ also filed a proposed consent decree that would resolve the issues. The sales are necessary in order to preserve mobile phone competition throughout Vermont, as well as in two rural areas in Washington and one in New York, the department said. The acquisition, as proposed, would have "substantially lessened competition to the detriment of consumers of mobile wireless telecommunications services in those areas, potentially resulting in higher prices, lower quality and reduced network investments," the DOJ said in a news release. The Federal Communications Commission also must approve the transaction.
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