Alltel today announced it has reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice related to the company's pending merger with Western Wireless Corporation.

Under the agreement, Alltel will divest 16 markets in Arkansas, Kansas and Nebraska now owned and operated by Western Wireless. The divestiture agreement includes all the assets - licenses, retail stores, employees and cell sites - used to operate the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) wireless business in those markets. The company also will divest the Cellular One brand that is owned by Western Wireless.

Alltel today filed a Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that outlines financial information related to the divested markets.

The divestiture of the CDMA operations includes one market in Arkansas that covers Columbia, Hempstead, Lafayette and Nevada counties; six markets that include all of Western Wireless' operations in Kansas; and nine markets that include all of Western Wireless' operations in Nebraska with the exception of Lincoln, Neb.

In addition to the Lincoln market, Alltel will retain ownership of the entire PCS spectrum now held by Western Wireless as well as all assets used solely to operate Western Wireless' GSM roaming business.

Alltel and Western Wireless will complete the merger later this summer, pending receipt of approvals from the Federal Communications Commission, the U.S. federal district court in Washington, D.C., and Western Wireless' stockholders. Western Wireless has scheduled a shareholder vote on the merger proposal for July 29.