Cellular One

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Cellular One logo

Cellular One is the trademarked brand name that licenses services (radio
frequencies they personally own for telecommunications) used by several cellular
service providers in the United States. The brand was sold to Trilogy Partners by
AT&T in 2008 shortly after AT&T had completed its acquisition of Dobson
Communications. Cellular One was originally the trade name of one of the first
mobile telephone service providers. Cellular One currently blocks Verizon and AT&T
services on the Navajo Nation.
Contents [hide]
1 History
1.1 Western Wireless
1.2 Dobson
2 Regional markets that operate under the Cellular One brand name
3 Former Cellular One partners
3.1 Independent wireless providers
3.2 Partners acquired by Verizon Wireless
3.3 Partners now owned by AT&T
4 External links
5 References
History[edit]
In 1977, the American Radio Telephone Service and Motorola formed Cellular One to
offer services to the Baltimore/Washington, D.C., area. In 1984, cellular service
began in the Baltimore/DC area.
The Baltimore/DC service, and the rights to the name Cellular One, were sold from
Metromedia to Southwestern Bell in 1987. In 1989, Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems
and McCaw Communications formed a partnership called Cellular One Group. In 1992,
Vanguard Cellular Systems joined the group. In 1995, Cellular One opened up
membership in the partnership to all A-side providers. Under the US AMPS
allocation, A-side providers were independent wireless operators, while B-side
providers were usually affiliates of the local landline telephone company. A new
slogan was also developed, "Cellular One: Clear Across America", recognizing
cellular's national reach, although there were very few national plans at this
time. In 1995, Cellular One affiliates had over 5 million customers and affiliates'
towers served approximately 69% of the US population.[1] Also in 1995, SNET joined
the partnership. Not all A-side carriers participated: most notably, L.A. Cellular,
in the nation's second largest market, Los Angeles, never participated in Cellular
One, and did not have agreements with Cellular One for some time. AT&T purchased
McCaw Cellular in 1994; shortly thereafter, AT&T renamed the former McCaw providers
"AT&T Wireless" and dropped out of the partnership. Western Wireless joined the
partnership in 1999, and in 2001, the Cellular One group name became the sole
property of Western Wireless.
Western Wireless[edit]
Main article: Western Wireless
Western Wireless operated under the Cellular One brand prior to being purchased by
Alltel in August 2005.
Dobson[edit]
Main article: Dobson Communications
The Cellular One brand name was also used by Dobson Cellular in various rural
markets in the continental US and in Alaska. In December 2005, Dobson purchased the
rights to the Cellular One name from Alltel. However, their services were
completely unrelated. Dobson used a TDMA and GSM network; Western Wireless used a
GSM, AMPS, TDMA and CDMA network. As of 15 November 2007, Dobson was acquired by
AT&T Inc., except several areas still operated under the Cellular One brand name.
[clarification needed] The Cellular One brand was sold to Trilogy Partners as a
result of the terms of the acquisition agreement.
Regional markets that operate under the Cellular One brand name[edit]
Market Name Web site Holding company Owners
Northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico Cellular One of East Arizona
cellularoneonline.com Smith Bagley Inc. Elizabeth Frawley Bagley and
children[2]
Louisiana Cellular One cellonenation.com Central Louisiana Cellular, LLC
Alta Communications[3]
Texas Cellular One cellonenation.com Texas 10, LLC Alta Communications[4]
Former Cellular One partners[edit]
Independent wireless providers[edit]
Indigo Wireless (Formerly Cellular One of West Nebraska, and Cellular One of north
central Pennsylvania)
Viaero Wireless (Formerly Cellular One of Northeast Colorado)
Arctic Slope Telephone Association Cooperative
Choice Wireless, LLC - Texas and Oklahoma
One Communications (Formerly Cell One of Bermuda)[5]
US Cellular (Formerly Madison Cellular Telephone Co. and Westel Milwaukee Company,
Inc.[6] of BellSouth Mobility[7]) - Wisconsin and northern Illinois[8][9][10]
Partners acquired by Verizon Wireless[edit]
Unicel (Rural Cellular Corporation - AL, KS, MA, MN, MS, OR, ME, NH) Completed
August 2008[11]
Price Communications Wireless (Bay County FL, Southern GA including Macon and
Albany, Southern AL including Dothan and Montgomery, and southern SC) purchase
completed in August 2002[12]
Alabama Wireless, Inc. (Cellular One of Northern Alabama) Purchased January
2002[13]
Contel Cellular/GTE Mobilnet (operated under the Cellular One name in most of
Tennessee, north-west Georgia, northern Alabama, and north central Kentucky;
dropped the Cellular One name and switched to the GTE Wireless name in the late
1990s)
Cell One Kansas City: Owned and operated by Airtouch, morphed into Verizon at
launch in 2000
Cellular One of Northeast Pennsylvania Wayne and Pike counties, Pennsylvania (South
Canaan Cellular, owned by US Cellular until Verizon Wireless acquisition)[14]
Verizon properties Originally acquired by Alltel prior to the January 2009 merger
Cellular XL (Cellular One of Mississippi) Purchased December 2002[15]
HickoryTech Wireless (Cellular One of Mankato) Purchased by Western Wireless Jan.
2004
Western Wireless (Cellular One West - AZ, AR, CA, CO, IA, ID, KS, MN, MO, MT, ND,
NE, NM, NV, OK, SD, TX, UT & WY) Purchased Jan. 2005
Virginia Cellular (CellOne Virginia) Purchased 2005
Cellular One of Amarillo Purchased April 2006[16]
Cellular One of Baton Rouge, Louisiana (owned by the former James Garvey's
Radiofone of Metairie, Louisiana, which SBC bought; divested by SBC to Alltel when
SBC and BellSouth formed Cingular because BellSouth already had a cellular system
in Baton Rouge)
Partners now owned by AT&T[edit]
Unicel only in the states of VT, NY and WA. Other Unicel systems were acquired by
Verizon.
AT&T Wireless (original McCaw systems; see above)
Vanguard Cellular (see above)
BellSouth Cellular (operated under the Cellular One name instead of the BellSouth
name in the Indianapolis, IN and Chicago areas with Chicago later sold to SBC
Communications; both switched to the Cingular brand when SBC and BellSouth formed
Cingular)
Centennial Communications (operated under the Cellular One name in northern
Indiana, Louisiana, southwest Michigan, and Mississippi; later dropped the Cellular
One name and rebranded as Centennial Wireless; company acquired by AT&T in 2009
with most Mississippi and Louisiana assets divested to Verizon Wireless)
Santa Cruz Cellular Telephone Company, Santa Cruz County, CA (purchased by Dobson
in the mid-1990s sold to AT&T in approximately 2002)-This was a key purchase for
AT&T as only missing holes in O&O Northern California coverage were San Benito &
Santa Cruz counties, owned then, by Dobson.
Easterbrooke Cellular, Elkins, WV- Purchased on January 3, 2008 to expand coverage
in West Virginia[17]
Dobson Communications acquisitions
PriCellular (New York, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, West
Virginia, Tennessee) Acquired by American Cellular on March 1998[18]
American Cellular Purchased August 2003[19]
RFB Cellular, Inc (Cellular One of Northeast Michigan) Purchased by Dobson
Communications on December 2004[20]
Highland Cellular (VA, WV) Purchased in October 2006 by American Cellular (a
subsidiary of Dobson Communications)[21]
Cellular Communications of Puerto Rico, Inc (Cellular One Puerto Rico, also serves
U.S. Virgin Islands) Acquired by SBC Communications and Telmex for $814 million
in 1999,[22][23] switched to the Cingular brand when SBC and BellSouth formed
Cingular.[24]
Cellular One of Lake Charles, Louisiana (first acquired by Centennial Wireless
which was purchased by AT&T in Nov. 2008)
San Luis Obispo County, California (SLO Cellular) Sold to AT&T, service ends Jan
17, 2011.
Long Lines Wireless (Formerly Cellular One of Great Lakes of Iowa) - Acquired by
AT&T July 2013[25]
Edge Wireless (AT&T Affiliate merged into AT&T in April 2008). Edge Wireless served
Northern California, Southern Oregon, Southeastern and Southcetral Idaho and
Jackson, Wyoming.
Cellular One of East Central Illinois (Cellular Properties Inc.), purchased in
2016.