OKLAHOMA CITY—Dobson Communications Corp.’s wireless subsidiary, American Cellular Corp., expanded its spectrum position in Texas with the $25 million purchase of a Rural Service Area and additional spectrum in markets that the company already serves.
The Texas 15 RSA covers nearly 12,500 square miles with a population of about 207,000 in 13 counties; the primary cities in the area are Brady, Fredericksburg, Kerrville and Lampasas. American is acquiring 25 megahertz of spectrum in the 850 MHz band and 10 megahertz of spectrum in the 1.9 GHz band in the area, along with approximately 850 customers from Concho Cellular Telephone Co. Inc.
American already provides wireless service under the Cellular One brand in three counties in the Texas 9 RSA and is purchasing another 10 megahertz of 1.9 GHz spectrum in three additional nearby counties.
According to Dobson, the company plans to upgrade the Texas 15 network to GSM/GPRS/EDGE technology to match its neighboring networks to the north and east.
In a separate announcement, Dobson launched AOL L.L.C.’s mobile instant messaging for its customers, which is designed to allow computer-to-mobile instant messaging and the forwarding of instant messages from a user’s computer to their handset.
