Verizon Acquiring Carolina West’s Network
Customers will have to switch to Verizon or another provider by Sept. 30
WASHINGTON, June 24, 2026 – Carolina West Wireless is selling its network to Verizon, the company announced Wednesday.
The company said in a release that it had “entered into an agreement to transition its wireless network to Verizon” and would discontinue its wireless service on Sept. 30, 2026.
Customers will have to manually switch to Verizon or another carrier by that date if they want to maintain mobile service. Verizon is offering Carolina West customers a $150 Mastercard gift card per line and no activation fees, provided they switch before July 30.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“This decision was made with the future of our customers and communities at the forefront,” Carolina West CEO Slayton Stewart said in a statement. “The wireless industry increasingly requires greater scale and investment to deliver the next generation of connectivity.”
Stewart serves on the board of CTIA, the major wireless industry lobbying group.
Subscribers to Carolina West's prepaid mobile and fixed wireless services will also need to find a new provider, the company said in its FAQ. Participants in the Federal Communications Commission's Lifeline program will have to reapply or transfer their enrollment through their new carrier.
Two years ago, Carolina West went to the FCC asking for subsidy support to keep money-losing towers online in areas where it was the only mobile provider.
“Carolina West cannot go on supporting money-losing plant in areas that require supplemental operating expense support, and should not be made to do so,” the company wrote in a May 2024 filing.
The rural carrier said its roaming revenue from larger national providers was falling, and that it had built towers with one-time FCC support with the expectation it would receive operational support that never materialized. Rural carrier trade groups told the agency Carolina West’s issues were not unique and that other providers were in need of similar relief to stay in business.
Tim Donovan, CEO of the Competitive Carriers Association, said in a statement Wednesday that Carolina West shutting down was evidence that time was running out for other providers in similar positions.
“The financial challenges Carolina West highlighted are not unique, and many other small and rural carriers continue to face similar pressures as they serve high-cost areas without the scale advantages enjoyed by nationwide carriers,” he said. “Without further policy changes, more communities will lose locally focused providers that have long delivered choice, innovation, and connectivity in high-cost areas, particularly in communities that might otherwise be overlooked.”
He reiterated the group’s support for operational subsidies for rural wireless carriers, adding that “time is of the essence, and I strongly encourage Congress and the Commission to take prompt action.”
T-Mobile acquired UScellular, then the largest regional wireless carrier in the country, last year for $4.3 billion.
Carolina West was founded 35 years ago and is owned by Skyline Telephone and Surry Communications. It operates in 11 counties in North Carolina.
