4th August 2008, 8:31 AM   by Eric M. Zeman   updated Today, 11:31 AM

The FCC has given Verizon Wireless permission to acquire Rural Cellular Corporation. In order to complete the purchase, one of the two companies will need to divest wireless licenses and assets in six different markets, one in New York, three in Vermont, and two in Washington. The acquisition was first announced in July 2007. Verizon Wireless is paying $2.67 billion for RCC's assets in markets spread around New England, the Mid West, the South and the Pacific Northwest, which cover 716,000 people.