Not Perfect, But a Cut Above the Rest

Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, owns and operates the second largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, based on a total of 70.8 million U.S. subscribers,^[1] behind AT&T Mobility's 72.9 million subscribers.^[2] Verizon Wireless has the highest revenue of all wireless companies based within the United States, with an annual revenue of $43.9 billion. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, the company is a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group, with 55 and 45 percent ownership respectively.^[3] They claim their wireless network covers geographic regions that contain a population of 260 million people within the United States.^[4]

On June 5, 2008, Verizon Wireless announced their intention to acquire rural provider Alltel Wireless in a deal valued at $28.1 Billion. With this merger, Verizon Wireless states that it will have approximately 85.2 million wireless subscribers and will cover a geographical region that contains approximately 290 million people.^[5][6] The merger received its final approval from the FCC on 2008-11-04. Once the merger is complete, Verizon Wireless will be the largest carrier in the United States