Verizon Wireless Buys Qwest's Wireless Assets
Since Qwest re-launched its wireless service as an MVNO using Sprint's network, the question has lingered over what was to become of Qwest's wireless network assets, including spectrum, cell sites, and equipment. The answer came today, as Verizon Wireless announced the purchase of all the former Qwest wireless assets. The $418M purchase (of which spectrum is the biggest prize) will give Verizon wireless increased capacity in 14 Western states, and also offer them to offer service to 1.5M people for the first time. Our observation is that VZW may use the un-loaded spectrum as part of its national EV-DO rollout, since DO requires designating a portion of a carrier's spectrum for EV-DO mobile data, which typically has to be taken away from voice.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team