Qwest Wireless - History

History

Prior to Qwest's acquisition of the RBOC US West, and unrelated to US West Wireless which became Qwest Wireless, US West operated its own analog cellular service, which merged with AirTouch and was eventually combined with GTE and PrimeCo to become Verizon Wireless.

In 1998, Qwest Wireless was launched as a standalone brand with its own network based in the Qwest 14-state region. Qwest Wireless maintained its own network elements, device inventory, billing, and service—offering combined billing and eventually, discounts for customers who purchased other, qualifying Qwest services. At its largest, Qwest Wireless had roughly one million customers, but due to a lack of network availability outside the 14-state Qwest region, the service suffered from slow growth. This lack of on-network coverage was only partially offset by Qwest Wireless' advanced network features, most notably One Number Service (ONS). ONS allowed customers to receive calls to their home phone number on the wireless. If the calls were not answered, the calls then rang normally on the home phone. Also available was Voice Messaging Link (VML), allowing the wireless and wireline phones to share a single voice mail box.

Due to the slow growth and high expense of maintaining a regional wireless network, Qwest Wireless was converted to an MVNO in 2003-2004. Most customers were able to keep their own handsets, requiring only an over-the-air software update to move to the Sprint network. Customers with older handsets were given free replacement devices. The advanced network features such as ONS and VML were still offered with Qwest Wireless after the move to the then-Sprint network (now Sprint Nextel). With an MVNO status, Qwest Wireless was no longer harmed by the lack of a national footprint, but the small size of the brand meant that Qwest Wireless was unable to respond to the increasing importance of handset marketing. Rarely able to offer new, exclusive handsets, Qwest Wireless lacked the buzz that came from these devices, notably the Motorola RAZR and Apple iPhone. In addition, the small subscriber base prevented Qwest Wireless from offering a broad range of handsets, leaving the company with only one or two smartphone offerings as those handsets became increasingly important to wireless carriers due to the higher per-user revenue.

On May 5, 2008 Qwest ended their agreement with Sprint Nextel and signed a 5 year contract with Verizon Wireless. Qwest has decided that they will no longer maintain an MVNO and will only resell Verizon Wireless services. The agreement also includes an arrangement to bill Verizon Wireless services on Qwest bills.

On March 11, 2009, Qwest announced that Qwest Wireless service would be terminated on October 31, 2009.