Save Unicel!

We Oppose The Sale Of Unicel 03/09/2008

Regardless what news we hear about what could happen to Unicel if sold to Verizon Wireless, we remain opposed to the sale of Unicel. Our desire is to see Rural Cellular retain ownership of Unicel for the forseeable future. The sale of Unicel would be detrimental to the consumers of Vermont and other States where Unicel does business.

Unicel Message Board

Visit our Message Board! We are interested to know how the loss of Unicel Cell Phone Service would affect you, your family or business.

Sign The Petition To Save Unicel

We need as many signatures as possible on our Save Unicel Petition. Please take a moment to sign it now. Please also ask your family, friends and co-workers to come and sign it as well.

How You Can Help

If you live in Vermont, vacation or travel here, the proposed purchase of Unicel will affect you. You can help us try to block this sale in the following ways: First, send letters and emails to the people and agencies listed on our "Notes" page. Next, sign our online petition. Then post a message on our Message Board and give us your thoughts and ideas. Finally, tell everyone you know about our website. Send them here to do exactly the same thing you are doing. If we all work together, we can make a difference but time is short. We need to work fast!

What's New?

VZW/RCC deal bogs down in political morass Lawmakers urge FCC to act fast on transaction 03/01/2008
Verizon Wireless� $2.67 billion play for Rural Cellular Corp. has turned intensely political, with Republican and Democratic lawmakers urging the Federal Communications Commission to rule soon on a deal whose review has been lengthy and controversial due to the potential impact on consumers in Vermont and elsewhere.

AT&T And Verizon Agree To Wireless Asset Swap 12/04/2007
Under the terms of the agreement, AT&T will acquire -- upon Verizon's acquisition of Rural Cellular Corporation -- some former Rural Cellular properties, including licenses, network assets and subscribers, in the Burlington, Vt. metropolitan service area and in rural service areas (RSAs) in New York (RSA-2), Vermont (RSA-1, RSA-2B1) and Washington (RSA-2, RSA-3).

Vermont In The Way Of Verizons RCC Purchase
There have been bigger wireless deals before the Federal Communications Commission this year, but perhaps none as controversial and potentially precedent-setting as its consideration of Verizon Wireless� proposed $2.67 billion purchase of Rural Cellular Corp. as it affects one state of the many involved in the transaction: Vermont. Leading the charge to have the FCC block the deal or impose extensive conditions is Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has backing from business and public-interest organizations in the state.
Feds Urge Delay On Wireless Merger
Three federal agencies say they want to check out the national security, law enforcement and public safety implications before Verizon Wireless is allowed to swallow up the Unicel cellular phone company in 15 states.
Senator Bernie Sanders Objects To Sale Of Unicel
(From www.vpr.net) Senator Bernie Sanders is raising concerns about the plan by Verizon Wireless to buy Unicel. The two companies dominate Vermont�s cell phone market. And Sanders says Verizon would become a monopoly if it�s allowed to take over the smaller phone carrier. He�s asked federal regulators to place conditions on the sale to protect consumers.
Vermont Attorney General To Review Verizon-Unicel Deal
(From WCAX, Burlington) Attorney General William Sorrell says his office will review the proposed purchase by Verizon Wireless of Vermont's other dominant cell phone carrier, Unicel -- from an antitrust perspective.
Vermont Ski Areas Depend On Unicel
Vermonts Ski Areas depend on Unicel. Without Unicel, there will be no regular, essential or emergency cell phone communications at the ski areas to keep you safe as Unicels GSM service is the only one available.
Smugglers Notch Depends On Unicel

We Oppose The Sale Of Unicel To Verizon Wireless!

By John

In July 2007, Verizon Wireless announced that they planned to purchase Unicel (Rural Cellular Corporation) and transition Unicel's GSM customers to Verizons CDMA network.

This buyout, if it happens in early 2008, is devastating news for all of Unicel's Customers in 14 states and especially the current subscribers to Unicel's Cellular Network here in Vermont. The competition between Verizon Wireless and Unicel in Vermont has kept prices fair and service more than adequate. Unicel has operated a GSM network which is the standard in most of the world. Verizon utilizes a CDMA network which is old and does not provide good signal in most parts of the state.

Once the purchase of Unicel is complete, Verizon has plans to take all Unicel Customers off the GSM Network and switch them to Verizon's CDMA handsets.

If the sale of Unicel (Rural Cellular) is approved, Verizon Wireless will become a monopoly and this is what will happen to cellular service in Vermont:

1) GSM Service Will End - If you've loved having a great signal covering most of the State from Unicel...forget about it. That service will end as all Unicel Subscribers will be switched to Verizons CDMA network. Supposedly only customers roaming from other states will be able to use the GSM network.

2) Do You Love Your Unicel Phone? - Too bad. Throw it in the garbage! You'll be forced to get a new phone from Verizon because Unicel phones would no longer work in Vermont. GSM is a worldwide standard with access to over 210 countries but Verizon uses a system that cannot be used anywhere but the USA and only on Verizon.

3) You May Not Get To Keep Your Cell Phone Number - There are conflicting reports so we're not completely sure on this issue. Some people have been reporting that when they call Unicel to find out if they can keep their number, some are told they can and others are told they cannot. We are told that CDMA and GSM technologies cannot support switching (porting) cell phone numbers between each other. Therefore, you "may" lose your great cell phone number forever!

4) Cell Phone Service Will Change - Verizon will have no incentive to keep prices low and they will have no responsibility to honor any Unicel pricing plans. That means you can say goodbye to Unicel's Free incoming calls, unlimited service and everything else they currently offer.

5) Have You Been Waiting To Get An IPhone? No way! Iphones will not work on Verizon's CDMA service. You will never own an IPhone in Vermont if Verizon Wireless buys Unicel.

6) There Would No Longer Be Any Competition For Verizon Wireless. Therefore, most service upgrades (new cell towers, repairs, customer service, etc) will become a very low priority for Verizon. All you'll get is worse service than Verizon customers get now.

If you are wondering why Unicel is willing to sell their company to Verizon and essentially screw all their loyal customers like you and me, the answer is simple. MONEY! The greedy officers and stockholders of Unicel see big dollar signs in their eyes because they can make a large fortune by selling the company. They are selling Unicel for $2.67 BILLION Dollars. All of Unicels customers will suffer because of this. The worst part about this is that as customers of Unicel, we have no choice. It's either switch to Verizon Wireless or go without a cell phone. There are no other cell phone service providers in Vermont except for Unicel and Verizon. Sprint-Nextel has some service but it's spotty to non-existent outside of Burlington, Rutland and a few other bigger cities. We must all do everything we can to stop the sale of Unicel to Verizon Wireless!

On this site you will find addresses to send a paper letter to those agencies that will be reviewing the proposed sale of Unicel. You will also find an online petition which everyone should sign. In addition, we have set up a Message Board to discuss this serious issue. Please take a few minutes to visit the Message Board and post your comments. Most importantly, tell everyone you know that uses a Unicel Cell Phone, about the proposed sale and ask them to come here and help us try to stop it!

Please note that the sale of Unicel is not yet a done deal. If it happens, it will be around Spring 2008. Our State Representatives are doing their best to at least have stipulations attached to the sale. You can hear about the stipulations in the video of Senator Bernie Sanders from this page.

Thank you for stopping by and please come back. We are still working on this site and we will also update this site as more news regarding Unicel happens.