Telecom market is in the midst of consolidation virtually all around the world, so why would the United States be any different. If you thought that everything ended with creation of the “New AT&T,” it seems you were wrong. That said, U.S. Cellular shareholders are pressuring the company to seek a buy-out from one of its larger rivals.
Those not familiar should know that U.S. Cellular is 81% controlled by Telephone & Data Systems (TDS), which large shareholder Southeastern (controls 15% of TDS) is saying that the carrier would be worth more as part of a larger operator.
US Cellular is a CDMA-based operator, making it suitable target for either Verizon Wireless or Sprint Nextel, though other GSM carriers could also be interested. With just under 6.2m customers, U.S. Cellular is the fifth largest operator in the USA and is closely followed by MetroPCS.
[Via: Cellular-News]