So what does the sale of some of Verizon’s assets mean?

It means that when the dust settles by the end of 2010, most of Albert Lea cell phone users will have a choice of Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile.

That is, unless some other surprises are in store.

See, Verizon Wireless bought Unicel in 2008. Then it bought Alltel in January (though the stores still say Alltel for now). Plus, it had Verizon services in many places.

Federal agencies review these large transactions, and the regulators deemed Verizon Wireless to have too much control over too many markets — something Verizon figured would happen anyway.

The regulations seek to promote competition for the good of the consumers.

So Verizon had been looking to sell off 105 markets nationwide. It found a buyer in AT&T, which puchased 79 of those markets.

In the Albert Lea area, that included Freeborn, Steele and Faribault counties.

No, AT&T didn’t buy Verizon. It merely bought many of the assets federal regulators required Verizon to get rid of.

OK, so what’s that mean for cellular users?

Presently, if you want a smartphone — those mobile phones that are almost more like small computers than ordinary cell phones — the choice in rural Minnesota is a Blackberry.

But with AT&T’s presence, now users can opt for the iPhone, too.

That’s really what it will boil down to for most folks.

Here’s the other question: Who is AT&T these days? Wasn’t it bought, merged, spun off and so forth?

True. AT&T is not the same company that started as American Telephone & Telegraph Co. in 1885 and was once a huge regulated monopoly.

AT&T today is really the former SBC Communications, which was Southwestern Bell Corp., founded in 1983. It bought AT&T in 2005.

SBC took the name AT&T because it is such an American icon and has great brand recognition.