Convergys buys Alltel assets, picks up 220 employees

Convergys announced late last week it will spend $37 million for certain billing and customer care assets of Alltel.

As part of the deal expected to close on Dec. 31, Convergys will begin providing customer service support for Cingular Wireless. It also will pick up billing services for another 10.5 million customers including those of Centennial Communications and Commonwealth Telephone.

Centennial Communications is a regional provider of wireless and broadband services in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio in the Midwest and Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas in the South. Centennial also provides wireless service to the Caribbean.

Commonwealth Telephone is a provider of voice, broadband and advanced communications services to 19 counties in eastern Pennsylvania. The provider has more than 300,000 access lines and is the nation's eighth largest publicly held independent rural local exchange carrier.

More than 220 Alltel employees will move to Convergys in support of the acquired billing systems and technology.