Tuesday November 5 11:57 AM EDT
Bellsouth Buys North Georgia Wireless Cable Rights From Cs Wireless
Systems, Cai Wireless Systems
BellSouth to Expand Wireless Cable Reach Outside Atlanta
ATLANTA, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- BellSouth Corp has agreed to buy the rights to licenses that will allow it to eventually
provide wireless cable television services to much of North Central Georgia from wireless cable companies CS Wireless
Systems, Inc. and CAI Wireless Systems Inc for approximately $13.3 million in cash.
Under the terms of a definitive agreement signed by the companies, BellSouth will pay CS Wireless approximately $7.3
million for the rights to licenses that would permit BellSouth to serve all or portions of more than two dozen Georgia counties
immediately outside the metropolitan Atlanta market. The extended service areas generally lie northwest, southwest and
southeast of the Atlanta market.
In addition, BellSouth will also buy the Atlanta basic trading area (BTA) license from CAI Wireless Systems, one of two
publicly traded corporate owners of CS Wireless, for approximately $6 million. Ownership of the Atlanta BTA license will
give BellSouth the right to apply to the Federal Communications Commission for additional wireless cable licenses in a
34-county area of North Georgia, including metropolitan Atlanta.
"Getting the rights to these licenses will mean that even more customers in Georgia will one day have access to BellSouth's
new wireless cable service along with the high service standards that our customers expect from the premier communications
company in the Southeast," said William F. Reddersen, group president of long distance and video for BellSouth.
"This transaction is part of CS's strategy of rationalizing its markets on a regional basis," said Alan Sonnenberg, vice chairman
of CS Wireless.
The purchase extends BellSouth's potential future wireless cable reach in Georgia to an additional estimated 336,157
line-of-sight households -- the wireless cable industry term for potential households served -- at an average cost of $31 per
line-of-sight household. The estimated line-of-sight cost includes a pro-rated share of the purchase price of the Atlanta BTA
license.
Together with BellSouth's previously announced plans to purchase Wireless Cable of Atlanta, Inc., which holds the rights to
licenses serving the Atlanta metropolitan area, BellSouth's acquisition of the CS Wireless and CAI Wireless rights would give
BellSouth combined access to a total of 1.2 million line-of- sight households in and around Atlanta.
BellSouth would provide service using multichannel multipoint distribution system (MMDS) technology. That technology
allows operators to broadcast a combination of satellite-delivered and local programming from a central transmitter site.
Subscribers receive the service using antennas about the size of a laptop personal computer.
Sale of the CS Wireless and CAI Wireless properties to BellSouth is expected to close in the first quarter of 1997, subject to
regulatory review and certain other conditions.
CS Wireless Systems, Inc. is one of the largest wireless cable television companies in the United States. The company's 17
markets, adjusted on a pro forma basis for announced transactions, encompass approximately 7.2 million television
households and have approximately 77,500 subscribers. CS is primarily owned by CAI Wireless Systems, Inc. and
Heartland Wireless Communications Inc .
BellSouth is a $17.9 billion communications company. It provides telecommunications, wireless communications, directory
advertising and information services to more than 25 million customers in 17 countries. For more information on BellSouth,
visit the BellSouth Web page at bellsouth.com. SOURCE BellSouth Corporation |
