The FCC ‘missed the train’ when it put open access conditions on ...

to create more competition,” he said. The FCC “didn’t need to impose government intervention to create market structure,” he said. Seidenberg discussed major wireless carriers’ interest in rurals. Majors will keep buying rurals, provided rurals want to sell, he said. SunCom’s Monday sale to T-Mobile followed a Rural Cellular sale to Verizon, Dobson Cellular sale to AT&T, and Alltel’s sale to private equity. Verizon didn’t act on Alltel’s desire to sell because the Bell has spectrum in most Alltel markets, Seidenberg said. Nor did Alltel’s size and price “fit what made sense,” he added. Verizon’s three-state wireline spinoff to FairPoint “will get done” by the end of Q1 2008 “at the latest,” he said. Verizon and FairPoint have shareholder approval and are working at getting state approvals, he said. Seidenberg said Verizon and Vodafone have a “very good operating relationship,” but the CEO declined to comment what that relationship may look like in the long term.