T-Mobile US has announced that it is accelerating its geographic expansion efforts in Iowa though a definitive agreement to acquire the remaining interest in Iowa Wireless (iWireless) from co-owner Aureon. Previously known as Iowa Network Services (INS), Aureon is privately owned by a group of 127 independent telephone companies that together serve 500,000 rural Iowans. For its part, iWireless currently serves 75,000 wireless customers in Iowa, western Illinois and eastern Nebraska. The deal is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approval and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017 or the first quarter of 2018.
Aureon CEO Ron Keller commented: ‘T-Mobile, Aureon and our independent telephone company partners built iWireless over a period of nearly 20 years. Going forward, iWireless will benefit from T-Mobile’s unrelenting focus on growth and continued investments in a high-quality network experience for their customers.’