Verizon Purchases Rural Cellular for $2.67 billion

Verizon Wireless has expanded its coverage by purchasing Rural Cellular, a regional cellular operator, for $2.67 billion. Rural Cellular has 716,000 subscribers in several regions of the country and operates both CDMA and GSM networks.

Verizon plans to switch Rural's GSM customers to CDMA network, but it will keep GSM networks operational to help provide roaming coverage to other GSM carriers.