Regional CDMA Carrier Revol Shuts Down Next Month, Boost Picks Up Customers

In a short note on its website, regional CDMA carrier Revol Wireless has confirmed that it will shut down next month on the 16th after years of decreasing revenue due to the increase in competition in the flat-rate wireless service business. The shutdown of Revol as a carrier and business entity also follows the sale of its spectrum licenses to Sprint late last month, a move that was seen as predicting the shutdown owing to the company’s substantial debt holdings of $150 million, incurred as a result of the company’s relaunch in 2005 from its beginnings as a former Cablevision subsidiary.

Revol was one of the last hyper-regional flat-rate carriers that previously served a small section of the Midwest, with coverage in select markets such as the Columbus, Canton, Toledo, Sandusky, and Youngstown, Ohio areas, along with Indianapolis, Indiana. The company offered many of the same devices as Sprint over the years along with some former Verizon exclusives.

Customers that have paid for an additional month of service up to Monday will be able to use their current service until January 16th, while Revol is pushing customers to move to Boost Mobile, as many previous Revol store locations are being converted to the Sprint brand and are offering a free month of service and free port-in of their current numbers with a free phone from Wednesday December 18th until the 24th of this month, as a lifeline to current Revol users affected by the shutdown.