Alltel Buys Old AT&T Wireless Spectrum

Alltel (AT) - Get Report has agreed to pay Cingular $170 million for portions of the former AT&T Wireless business in six states as part of a mandated divestiture.

To gain approval for its $41 billion buyout of AT&T Wireless last month, federal regulators required Cingular to sell wireless properties in 13 cities in 11 states where Cingular and AT&T Wireless have overlapping networks.

Cingular, a joint venture between

SBC

(SBC)

and

BellSouth

(BLS)

, is now the nation's largest cell-phone service provider with about 47 million subscribers. No. 2 wireless telco

Verizon Wireless

-- a joint venture between

Verizon

(VZ) - Get Report

and

Vodafone

(VOD) - Get Report

-- has more than 40 million customers.

Alltell will purchase radio wave spectrum and network assets in Oklahoma City and Grant, Okla.; Sherman-Denison and Jack, Texas; Owensboro and Fulton, Ky.; Litchfield, Conn.; Yalobusha, Miss.; Wichita, Kan.; and several counties in Georgia and Texas.

In early trading Friday, SBC shares rose 14 cents to $25.50, BellSouth was up 22 cents to $27.28 and Alltel was up 49 cents to $56.88.