Cal-One Cellular operates under the Cal North Wireless brand, and the deal means that Verizon Wireless can expand its network footprint in northern California, specifically in Del Norte, Humboldt, Siskiyou and Trinity counties.
The purchase includes Cal North Wireless’ spectrum license and network assets of 49 cell sites and related network equipment. The license covers a population of 214,000 people in the four northern California counties.
Verizon Wireless has invested nearly $30bn on its US mobile network, averaging $5bn a year since the creation of the joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone Group Plc back in 2000. Verizon Wireless has pumped $3.7bn into California alone.
Verizon Wireless has also expanded its network recently with four new cell sites in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The sites cover Royersford and Perkiomenville in Montgomery County (Pennsylvania), as well as Winslow (Camden County) and Princeton (Mercer County) in New Jersey.
Verizon Wireless is pushing hard to regain the number one spot in the US mobile market, and in the last quarter it gained a record 2 million subscribers to end the year with 51.3 million customers, narrowing the gap with market leader Cingular.
Meanwhile, the operator last week filed two lawsuits that charge telemarketing companies with illegal solicitation of its customers. The lawsuits, filed in state Superior Court in Somerville, New Jersey, claim that the companies named in the suit violated the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, as well as state fraud and privacy laws.
In the first suit, Verizon alleged that All Star Vacations and Marketing Group, and Travel and Tours Marketing made more than 500,000 calls using autodialers and prerecorded messages in Spanish to Verizon Wireless customers, indicating that customers had won trips to one of several resort locations and directing them to call a toll-free number to claim their prize.
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In the second lawsuit, Verizon Wireless claimed that Cambridge Marketing and Financial Services, made thousands of calls to mobile phone customers using autodialers and prerecorded messages. The messages left in voicemail indicated that customers had won a Ford Explorer and directed them to call a toll-free number to claim their prize.
