Yet Another TDS Divestiture Could Free Up Fiber Funding

Two incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) in Virginia—Amelia Telephone Corporation and New Castle Telephone Company—will be the property of RiverStreet Management Services LLC under an agreement signed on May 31 with TDS Telecom, current owner of the ILECs. The deal is based on a stock purchase agreement with RiverStreet. Other financial details about the transaction, which is expected to close during the third quarter of the year, were not revealed. If the deal sounds familiar, it is: In 2015, TDS Telecom sold about 3,000 lines in three North Carolina communities to Wilkes Communications. This is the third divestiture TDS has announced in just recently as it seeks to focus on its core fiber broadband business and stockpile cash for fiber network investment.