Cellcom (United States)

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Cellcom
Type
Private
Industry Telecommunications
Founded 1987; 30 years ago
Headquarters De Pere, Wisconsin, USA
Products 4G LTE, CDMA, EvDO, SMS (text messaging), MMS (picture messaging),
iPhone, Android
Parent Nsight
Website Official website
Cellcom (officially called New-Cell Inc. dba Cellcom) is a regional wireless
service provider based in De Pere, Wisconsin, with roots that date back to 1910.
Cellcom began providing service from its office in Green Bay in 1987, when its
parent company, Nsight, entered the wireless industry.[1]
Cellcom offers a variety of wireless communication devices, including feature
handsets, smartphones, home phones, tablets, residential and mobile broadband.
Outside of its own regional network, the company partners with other regional and
national carriers to provide nationwide voice and data service. Cellcom uses CDMA
and 4G LTE technology. Cellcom's retail area includes northeast and central
Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Green cell sites
3 Femtocells
4 Network
5 Other awards
6 Spokespeople
7 References
8 External links
History[edit]
Cellcom's parent company, Nsight, was founded on March 10, 1910, when a group of
Pulaski business people met at the local drug store to discuss providing telephone
service to their growing community. From that meeting, the Pulaski Merchants and
Farmers Telephone Company formed.[2]
In 1968 the company's name changed to Northeast Telephone Company. Northeast
Communications, Inc. was formed as a holding company in 1982, and Northeast
Telephone Company became a subsidiary. In 1999, Northeast Communications of
Wisconsin, Inc. began doing business as Nsight. Today, Nsight's subsidiaries
include Cellcom, Nsight Telservices and Nsight Tower.[3]
Nsight has been a family-run business since 1923.[3]
Green cell sites[edit]
The first alternative energy cell site in the upper Midwest, built in Ackley, Wis.
and activated on April 22, 2008, delivers wireless service to an area that
previously had many dead zones.[4]
Equipment for the green cell site underwent rigorous testing prior to installation
and features multiple backups to ensure continuity of service. The primary source
of energy for this site is sunlight collected using a 6.3 kilowatt solar panel
array. The energy gathered from the sun is converted into electricity and stored in
batteries. The cell site draws energy for operation from these batteries. On dark
or cloudy days, energy generated by a wind mill supplements the solar power to
maintain operation. A hydrogen fuel cell serves as a backup for both of these
energy producers. The final backup is a diesel generator that can be hooked up to
maintain service if all other power sources fail.
In 2010, Cellcom converted the Ackley site to a grid-tie location and it now feeds
the extra energy produced from the solar panels and wind turbine back to the power
company and, in turn, became even more efficient.
A second green cell site was activated in 2009 on Chambers Island in Door County.
The cliffs lining Door County's rugged shoreline were blocking the signals from
mainland towers, leaving many area residents with limited cellular service, as well
as leaving emergency personnel with limited radio coverage. The green cell site
runs on batteries charged by solar panels at the base of the tower and a wind
turbine installed on tower. A propane generator is available as a back-up source of
power if there is inadequate wind or sun to charge the batteries.[5]
Femtocells[edit]
Cellcom was the first CDMA carrier in the U.S. to be a member of the non-profit
organization founded in 2007 to promote worldwide femtocell deployment. Femto
technology offers a low cost and highly effective solution to dead zones,
particularly in small areas such as a home. In addition, a femtocell offers higher
data rates, better voice quality and improved multi-media experiences.[6]
In 2009, Cellcom received the first Femtocell Industry Award for significant
progress or commercial launch by a small carrier at the Femtocells World Summit in
London.[7]
Network[edit]
700 5*5;MHz LTE
850 5*5;MHz CDMA
PCS 10*10;MHz LTE/CDMA
AWS 1 5*5;MHz- Certain markets include 10*10;MHz LTE
AWS 3 5*5'MHz
[8]
Cellcom is a Verizon LTE in Rural America (LRA) partner. Through this partnership,
customers of both carriers will benefit from the high-speed, fourth-generation
long-term evolution (LTE) services. [9]
Cellcom has access to Verizon Wireless's extensive 700;MHz and AWS 1 spectrum
holdings for use on their network. [10]
Cellcom has made plans to extend its 4G LTE infrastructure into almost all of its
existing 3G CDMA network during 2016.
Other awards[edit]
Cellcom and its parent company Nsight were recognized in 2009 as the business
recipient of the Brown County Ethics in Business Awards.[11]
Spokespeople[edit]
Mike Holmgren, former coach of the Green Bay Packers, was the company's first
advertising spokesperson and was featured in advertising from 1996-1999. Ron Wolf,
former general manager for the Green Bay Packers, was featured in advertising in
2000. Mike Sherman, former head coach and general manager, was featured from 2002-
2005.
In 2009 and 2010, America's Got Talent runner-up and Door County-native Eli Mattson
served as the company's spokesperson.
In 2011, Cellcom began featuring Mike McCarthy, current head coach of the Green Bay
Packers, in their advertising.[12]