NTELOS (Nasdaq: NTLS) is giving the telecom industry a sneak peek at how its wireline business, which will combine the current NTELOS Wireline and FiberNet units, by announcing that the new publicly traded company will be called "Lumos Networks."
A product of NTELOS' previous decision last December to separate its wireless and wireline operations, Lumos Networks will hold brand launch events in four of its key markets: Charleston, West Va., and Waynesboro, Covington, and Daleville, Va.
Meanwhile, NTELOS Wireless will retain the NTELOS name, providing nationwide wireless service.
Michael B. Moneymaker, President and CFO of Lumos Networks Corp., said that the name change will help create brand identity for the wireline side of the business, something that can be challenging when two powerful segments have to compete for capital and people resources.
"The change to Lumos Networks will allow us to create a stronger identity for our wireline business--data, broadband, voice, and IP services," he said.
NTELOS isn't alone in its desire to create separate identities for its wireline and wireless holdings. The ILEC actually joins other service providers like Sprint (NYSE: S), which spun out its former wireline operations as Embarq, now part of CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL), and the former Alltell spinning out its wireline assets to create Windstream (Nasdaq: WIN).
When the transition is complete, Lumos Networks will be listed on the Nasdaq, trading under the symbol "LMOS."
For more:
- see the release
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