Rural wireless carriers have so far reacted with a mixture of skepticism and cautious enthusiasm to Verizon Wireless' announcement about licensing them its 700 MHz LTE spectrum, according to FierceWireless.

"We'd be open to working with Verizon. Our members are anxious to get LTE deployed in 700 MHz. I think Verizon knows it's sitting on a lot of spectrum in a lot of rural areas that isn't being utilized." Carrie Bennet, RTG's general counsel, told FierceWireless.

FCC chairman Julius Genachowski and commissioner Meredith Baker has hailed Verizon Wireless' plan to bring its robust LTE network to rural areas. "Bringing the benefits of mobile broadband to rural America is one the Commissions top priorities. The news of Verizon Wireless' plan to partner with rural providers to accelerate investment in 4G networks is very encouraging," Chairman Julius Genachowski and Commissioner Meredith A. Baker said in a joint statement. 

Verizon Wireless executives said earlier this week that they want to work with rural carriers to bring LTE to their customers.