Verizon acquires rural Kentucky wireless company Bluegrass Cellular

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Verizon said Monday it is acquiring “certain assets” of Bluegrass Cellular, a wireless service provider in rural Kentucky. According to a news release, Bluegrass Cellular was the first wireless provider in central Kentucky, launching in 1991. It serves 210,000 customers in 34 Kentucky counties.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and it’s still subject to FCC approval, but is expected to close later this year or early in 2021, according to Verizon. The companies have had a working relationship for several years; in 2012 Bluegrass launched LTE service in Kentucky as part of Verizon’s LTE in Rural America program. As part of that program, Verizon leased some of its spectrum in rural areas.

And in July, Verizon announced it was launching...