Shentel promises LTE expansion for Ntelos markets and access to Sprint nationwide LTE network for roaming
Nearly nine months after announcing the deal, Sprint network affiliate Shenandoah Telecommunications completed its acquisition of fellow affiliate Ntelos in a move bolstering Shentel’s mobile operations across portions of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky.
When first announced last August, the deal was valued at approximately $640 million. Shentel management said it has committed a further $350 million towards network expansion and plans to add “hundreds of additional coverage sites.”
“The most important news for customers is that Shentel will accelerate network upgrades in the current Ntelos region throughout this year and next, which will give customers more coverage in more places, stronger signals and faster downloads,” said Christopher French, president and CEO of Shentel.
Shentel had previously stated plans to terminate an existing network wholesale agreements between Sprint and Ntelos. The carrier did pledge to continue LTE upgrades to the Ntelos network and expand coverage with at least an additional 150 sites over the next three years, using spectrum acquired by Sprint and made as part of the transaction. Those spectrum assets are to include Sprint’s 2.5 GHz spectrum holdings in Shentel’s footprint, which are central to Sprint’s planned updates to its LTE service.
Shentel in 2012, secured a deal with Sprint to bolster its network with LTE technology and spectrum assets in the 1.9 GHz and 800 MHz band received from Sprint. The new deal also extends that affiliate agreement between Sprint and Shentel an additional five years to 2029.
In addition to its expanded reach, Shentel said the Ntelos acquisition more than doubles its wireless customer base, with the company planning to use the Sprint brand to offer service in the former Ntelos markets. Those customers will also have free access to Sprint’s nationwide LTE roaming network, with Shentel saying it plans to migrate Ntelos customers to “equivalent or better plan to make the switch to Sprint so that they can receive the full benefits of being a Sprint wireless customer.”
Sprint had previously stated that as part of the deal it would convert its approximately 291,000 customers in the Shentel markets to “Sprint-branded affiliate customers” with 8,000 Ntelos customers “converted into Sprint-branded retail customers.” Sprint said it would also look to transition its existing retail wireless operations within Ntelos’ markets to Shentel.
The move also brings to an end Ntelos’ migration from the wireless market, which previously included the sale of 1.9 GHz spectrum licenses covering around 55 million potential customers for $56 million to T-Mobile US, and a deal to sell up to 103 towers for $41 million to an affiliate of private-equity firm Grain Management.
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