HOW NSIGHT NAVIGATES THE RURAL REALITIES OF SMALL-TOWN WIRELESS

You could build a war monument to honor the names of all the rural wireless carriers that have fallen in battle. Victims of national providers' insatiable demand to obtain spectrum and expand their service footprints, these small regional providers go MIA as a result of M&A. Mergers and acquisitions, in fact, have increased dramatically in recent months as mobile operator competition reaches a fever pitch, effectively positioning carriers throughout small-town America in the crosshairs of larger, deeper-pocketed rivals with an eye on getting bigger fast.

Nsight Teleservices has no intention of adding its name to the memorial. The Green Bay, Wis.-based service provider, which in 2006 will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its Cellcom wireless subsidiary, is taking on the big boys by playing their own game, acquiring spectrum licenses across Michigan's upper peninsula in the FCC's recent Auction 58, which wrapped in mid-February.

“Whenever we look at auctions, if we think there's nothing in our market, we won't get involved, but if we think there's value, we'll jump right in,” said Rob Riordan, Nsight's executive vice president and director of corporate development. “We made the determination that, being a major regional player in Wisconsin, expanding into the U.P., makes a lot of sense. And because there were not a lot of bidders interested in those markets, we found some good deals.”

Nsight, which bid a net total of $441,000 for five licenses in the Upper Peninsula, has made its living by capitalizing on opportunities that larger service providers overlook or ignore altogether. “Small towns are a blip on the radar screens of national carriers,” Riordan said. “That's a huge positive for rural carriers, as long as we offer quality service.”

Riordan and his brother Pat, Nsight's president and CEO, represent the third generation of Riordans at the company's helm. Nsight was founded in Pulaski, Wis., in 1910 as the Pulaski Merchants and Farmers Telephone Co. The Riordans' grandparents acquired a controlling stock interest in 1923, with their grandfather Daniel elected president the following year. His son Robert E. Riordan took over the firm's leadership in 1952 — sons Pat and Rob both came aboard in the mid-1970s, with the former named president in 1991.

By then, Cellcom was flourishing — launched in 1986 to provide cellular service in Brown County, Wis., in 1989 its footprint grew across the northeast Wisconsin area, later followed by expansion into other regions of the state as well as parts of Iowa. Not bad for a wireless business that almost never got off the ground at all: “The banks wouldn't support us,” Pat Riordan recalled. “They said, ‘People already have a phone at home — why would they want that?’”

Through it all, Nsight has focused on keeping close ties with its subscribers, emphasizing customer care and spending time and money in support of community activities. Green Bay Packers Head Coach Mike Sherman is even its spokesman. According to Pat Riordan, it's a facet of the business that national carriers can't hope to match.

“Mergers are a benefit to us — when the big guys get bigger, they move further away from their customers, and their focus is pulled away,” he said. “We've been able to develop a strong sense of loyalty. We try to stay local — it's our ace in the hole. It's where we are and where [national carriers] can't get to.”

Even in acquiring additional spectrum earlier this year, in an auction where Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Sprint and Cingular were big winners, Nsight obtained licenses contiguous with its existing footprint, adding potential customers in areas it already knew and understood.

“Green Bay is like the capital of the U.P.,” Pat Riordan said. “A lot of people move to Green Bay to find jobs, and we have a number of employees that come from the U.P. A few years ago, we found that only about 11% of the U.P. population had wireless phones — there's a lot of room for somebody to provide good service up there.”

Nsight also acquired additional spectrum in its existing markets. “Because there's so much data coming down, you need more spectrum, so we're fortifying our communities to make sure people get what they need,” Pat Riordan said.

Wireless data represents only one component of Nsight's future — the company is also looking into voice over IP, Wi-Fi and WiMAX as critical elements of its ongoing skirmish with the national players.

“We're looking at convergence and making landline and wireless work seamlessly together,” Pat Riordan said. “We're constantly looking at how we can service our customers less expensively and give them the services they want.”