Voicestream wireless was founded in 1994 as a wireless telecommunications company based in Bellevue, Washington. The company's purpose was to provide cellular service to the Seattle area. The founder of voice stream is the current C.E.O. John Stanton. The company was one of the first wireless company's to provide GSM cellular service. GSM is a global system for mobile communication, using smart card technology. Since 1994 Voice stream has expanded its North American market from being the Seattle and Portland metro area to include all fifty states as well as Canadian Provinces in their service coverage area. Voice stream has also merged with Deutche Telekom, which is Europe's largest cellular carrier forming the first transatlantic wireless communications operator utilizing the GSM digital wireless technology standard. .
Voicestream's main business at this point in time is to provide the highest quality digital wireless service to its customers. In May 2000, VoiceStream completed merger transactions with two regional GSM service providers, Omnipoint Communications and Aerial Communications. Voicestream fully integrated all three companies by the end of 2000 setting standard business practices and converting to a single customer-billing platform. Voicestream successfully launched the voicestream brand in eastern markets. Voicestream controls a large portion of the market in North America providing coverage in eighty seven percent of the United States. Voicestream is also one of the most popular carriers amongst business men for they are the only wireless company to offer service while traveling overseas with a worldwide market this puts them in control of most international coverage. The primary competition of Voicestream would have to be Sprint Wireless and AT&T wireless, which until the emergence of Voicestream were in control of North Americas wireless markets. Voicestream is a fairly large company with over six million customers based on second quarter standings of 2001, and over seventeen thousand and five hundred employees worldwide.