Sprint Nextel has completed its purchase of Nextel Partners, six months after announcing the deal. Nextel Partners was an affiliate of Nextel that sold wireless service under the Nextel brand in rural areas. Sprint’s purchase of Nextel violated Nextel Partners’ exclusivity clause and the company used another clause to demand a buyout.

Sprint Nextel spent $6.5 billion completing the purchase (it already owned 31% of the shares). It now controls 58 additional markets in 31 states. The total number of Sprint Nextel subscribers now totals 51 million.