Western Wireless Corporation and through the merger created what the company called the "largest rural cellular-service provider in the United States." At the time of the merger, the company offered service in 16 western and mid-western states with service areas covering 5.2 million potential customers. Western Wireless became a publicly traded company in May 1996, offering 12.65 million shares traded on the NASDAQ under the stock ticker symbol WWCA. Combined with a separate public bond offering, the company raised US$430 million in net proceeds. On May 3, 1999, Western Wireless spun off its VoiceStream Wireless division to Western Wireless shareholders, creating an independent, publicly traded Delaware corporation called VoiceStream Wireless Corporation. Shares of VoiceStream Wireless traded on the NASDAQ under the stock ticker symbol VSTR. The spin off was intended to remove any conglomerate discount, get better value recognition for each of Western Wireless' core analog cellular and digital PCS networks and help each business pursue independent strategies. VoiceStream was purchased by Deutsche Telekom in 2001 for US$30 billion and renamed T-Mobile USA in 2002. On January 9, 2005, Western Wireless entered into a merger agreement with Little Rock, Arkansas-based telecommunications provider Alltel in which Alltel agreed to pay $6 billion in stock-and-cash to Western Wireless shareholders. Western Wireless shareholders voted on July 29, 2005, eleven years to the day after Western Wirless was incorporated, to accept a US$4.4 billion stock-and-cash offer from Alltel. The merger closed on August 1, 2005. At the time, the merger created the fifth largest wireless communications provider in the United States with 10 million customers in 33 states. Western Wireless International Western Wireless subsidiary Western Wireless International Corporation held mobile licenses in several countries outside the United States including: Austria (Tele.Ring), Ireland (Meteor Mobile Communications), Slovenia (Vega), Haiti (ComCel), Bolivia (Viva), Iceland (TAL), Croatia (vipnet), Georgia, Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire covering about 1.8 million subscribers in 2005. After Alltel acquired Western Wireless, non-core international assets were sold. Alltel sold Meteor to Irish telecoms incumbent, eircom and sold Tele.Ring to T-Mobile Austria. In Slovenia, the assets of Vega were split between the two main network operators. See also i wireless Notes References Alltel Defunct mobile phone companies of the United States Defunct companies based in Washington (state) Companies based in Bellevue, Washington Telecommunications companies established in 1988 Technology companies disestablished in 2005