The divestitures cover the entire states of North Dakota and South Dakota; swaths of the states of Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Montana, South Carolina, Utah and Wyoming; and portions of the states of Alabama, Arizona, California, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia, a DOJ press release said. The agency's antitrust division, along with attorneys general for several states filed a civil suit in a Washington, D.C. federal court to block the deal and offered a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve competitive concerns.

According to the complaint, Verizon and Alltel are rivals and each is the other’s closest competitor for a significant set of customers in 94 cellular marketing areas, as defined by the FCC. The complaint alleges that the proposed transaction would substantially reduce competition for wireless services in each of those areas. The proposed settlement requires divestitures in these 94 areas to eliminate the competitive concerns. Proposed modifications to two existing consent decrees would require Verizon to divest businesses in six additional areas, officials said.