Telecom Lead America: Sprint has completed its transaction with U.S. Cellular to buy 20MHz of PCS spectrum.
Sprint will gain from spectrum in Midwest markets including Chicago, South Bend, Ind., and Champaign, Ill., and 10MHz of PCS spectrum in the St. Louis market.
The mobile operator says the additional spectrum will significantly increase Sprint’s network capacity and further improve the customer experience in these markets. In addition, the transaction includes approximately 420,000 U.S. Cellular customers.
Sprint and U.S. Cellular have notified affected customers and Sprint will send them additional information on the exact timing and details of the transition which will last several months.
Sprint and its Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile and payLo prepaid brands are providing special offers and incentives for affected customers that significantly reduce the cost of acquiring a new device to transition from the U.S. Cellular network.
In many cases, affected customers can switch from their current device to a similar or better Sprint or prepaid device for little or no cost and with a wide variety of contract or non-contract plans.
Affected customers will not be charged an Early Termination Fee when switching their service.
During the months-long transition period, U.S. Cellular’s network will remain active and affected customers may continue to use U.S. Cellular for their wireless service while evaluating their options.
“We know how important good value, network performance and excellent service are to these customers and Sprint has a portfolio of competitive devices, prepaid options, an improved 3G and growing 4G LTE network experience, and unlimited data, text and voice plans to meet their wireless needs,” said Paget Alves, Sprint chief sales officer.
