Verizon has announced its intention to purchase Bluegrass Cellular, the oldest wireless carrier in Kentucky.

Bluegrass Cellular serves rural areas in central Kentucky, and has approximately 210,000 subscribers in 34 counties. The acquisition of Bluegrass Cellular will help Verizon improve its coverage in the state.

In many rural areas, Verizon has licensing agreements with local and regional carriers. In some areas, as a result of the licensing fees, Verizon has ended those agreements, leaving their own customers stranded. It appears Verizon is choose a different route with central Kentucky.

“We are excited to acquire certain assets of Bluegrass Cellular and expand our footprint in Kentucky,” said Ronan Dunne, Executive Vice President and Group CEO, Verizon Consumer Group. “We look forward to welcoming Bluegrass customers and employees into the Verizon family and providing them with reliable wireless service alongside a best-in-class customer experience.”

“We launched the first wireless company in central Kentucky 29 years ago,” said Ron Smith, President of Bluegrass Cellular. “We’ve always known that our customers were the most important part of our business, and we pride ourselves on playing an important role in connecting our community. I’m confident that Verizon will continue to be the same good neighbor that we’ve been and will provide crucial and reliable wireless connectivity to our rural communities.”

The deal is subject to FCC approval. If it goes through, however, Bluegrass Cellular customers will not need to take any further action. Verizon will inform customers at a later date of what services are available to them.