Shentel Getting Ready to Make Offer For Ntelos?

[marioc21]

Haven't seen this pop up anywhere else yet, but I think we've all anticipated this coming.

 

http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2015/05/13/2129355/us-telco-raw-alert-ntelos-targeted-by-shentel/

 

We'll see if anything more comes of this.

 

 

[KD8JBF]

It was mentioned over in the nTelos thread pretty good, but may be worth while to have its own thread...

[joshnys8913]

cool

[PythonFanPA]

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/ntelos-ceo-mum-rumors-merger-shentel-says-board-looking-strategic-opportuni/2015-05-18

[JimBob]

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/ntelos-ceo-mum-rumors-merger-shentel-says-board-looking-strategic-opportuni/2015-05-18

I just drove through West Virginia and western Virginia.  Horrible data connection on my Sprint LG G3 if any at all.

[joshuam]

I just drove through West Virginia and western Virginia. Horrible data connection on my Sprint LG G3 if any at all.

nTelos is awful in Virginia. I wish Sprint would add native coverage along I-81.

[Joski1624]

I can't complain about coverage in n-telos land . It is West Virginia afterall with rugged terrain and a sparse population . And even Verizon has gaping holes in West Virginia not to mention the radio quiet zone that affects all carriers . I think this buyout can be a good thing, especially since Shentel has a reputation for rolling out NV quite seemlessly.

[Trip]

Not all of nTelos land is severely rugged terrain. Much of the Virginia part of nTelos land is pretty flat and the service is pretty poor there too.

 

- Trip

[chamb]

Not all of nTelos land is severely rugged terrain. Much of the Virginia part of nTelos land is pretty flat and the service is pretty poor there too.

 

- Trip

Yep, just driving north & south on I-81 in Virginia is troublesome in nTelos land.  I went through that route a few months ago.  No LTE at all and the 1X voice would drop to -105 between cell sites. Then eventually you would find yourself on Roaming. Then back on nTelos for a few minutes and then back on roaming.   If they ever replace the cell site equipment with the Sprint NV type, we may just have a good enough signal to avoid the roaming areas that we have had for years. Hopefully they get  a few of the cell sites upgraded even if only the CDMA 1X capability. 

[joshnys8913]

Sprint should buy Ntelos and gain foot print (even though its "native" coverage now) but its not Sprint's actual equipment and foot print. Yes I know Shentel has ties with Sprint but still lol. Speaking about WV I wonder why only the big AT&T and VZW built out the that state but Sprint, old Nextel and T-mobile didnt even touch that state? I know WV is not hugely populated but its not by any means rural like out west. They surround WV though. Just seems odd, but maybe it was too much competition at the time of early stages of network build outs because Ntelos and US Celluar were already there/building out in WV at the time?  I guess I just never understood that.

[Trip]

Didn't Sprint and T-Mobile buy their way into their current footprints?  If so, then West Virginia probably just didn't have anyone for sale for either one to buy.

 

In any case, the state is very rugged in terms of terrain so it's hard to cover the state well.  It requires a lot of towers or just an admission that you're not going to get it all.  Even AT&T and US Cellular, in the areas where US Cellular operates, both have a lot of holes in West Virginia due to very low population density and very rough terrain even where there is population.

 

In any event, I would very much prefer to see Shentel, a local-ish company, buy out nTelos as opposed to Sprint.  Shentel, I think, can be trusted to reinvest money locally, while Sprint will shuffle it around.  And if you look at Shentel's tower density in most of their markets, it's better than or equal to Verizon and AT&T in those areas, which speaks volumes to me about the quality and level of service Shentel provides.

 

- Trip

[davidtm]

I completely agree, Trip. However, that sentiment depends on the continuity of Shentel's relationship with Sprint.

 

Sent from Tapatalk on either my HTC One M9 or Tab4 10.1, it kinda depends

[Trip]

Who else would Shentel partner with?  Verizon and AT&T have their own networks in the Shentel region, and T-Mobile definitely has service (albeit not on the scale Shentel does).

 

- Trip

[joshnys8913]

Who else would Shentel partner with?  Verizon and AT&T have their own networks in the Shentel region, and T-Mobile definitely has service (albeit not on the scale Shentel does).

 

- Trip

T-mobile does not have the scale of Sprint thats for sure (at least in rural areas) even then I have many friends who have both and Sprint is much better. However the one thing that T-mobile has an advantage over Sprint in my area is 700, Sprint is still not ready for 800 yet. Something else Sprint really needs to start doing soon if they want to stay competitive is getting LTE to GMO sites, it would be nice.