FCC Approves TDS-RiverStreet Sales

WASHINGTON, September 16, 2024 - Federal regulators have approved the sale of two TDS Telecom networks to RiverStreet Management Services.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau said in a Friday notice that the transfer will not have adverse effects on the market.

TDS, based in Madison, Wis.. entered into a stock purchase agreement to transfer ownership of Amelia Telephone Corp. and New Castle Telephone Co., both Virginia corporations, to RiverStreet, a subsidiary of Wilkes Telephone Membership Corp.

Based in Wilkesboro, N.C., RiverStreet is a North Carolina corporation that serves broadband connections to roughly 30,000 customers in rural Virginia and North Carolina.

In the application for FCC approval, TDS did not provide the number of subscribers involved or the communications services provided by Amelia and New Castle.

Pursuant to the stock agreement, RiverStreet will purchase all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of Amelia and New Castle thereby gaining control of them.

The FCC noted in its sale approval that the transferral of ownership will not remove competitors from the market, nor will it affect the $8.1 billion Universal Service Fund.

Both TDS and RiverStreet have asserted that, after the change of ownership, Amelia and New Castle will continue to exist and operate. 

Accordingly, the FCC concluded the transaction was consistent with the public interest.

RiverStreet and its parent company, Wilkes Telephone Membership Corp. recently united under the name RiverStreet in order to simplify and strengthen its presence in the communities that they serve.