Overview
On January 9, 2009, Verizon Wireless announced the completion of its purchase of Alltel Corporation, making Verizon the largest wireless carrier in the United States.
Alltel customers don't need to do anything. Several Alltel stores remain open, and their website is still accessible. For now, plans will remain the same, and the My Circle program will remain in place. Customers will be notified at a later date of any changes that come about. Verizon expects the transition to be complete sometime during the third quarter of 2009.
Pros: Alltel Wireless has My Circle, a program that allows users to call their favorite one, five, ten, or twenty numbers as much as they want, at any time, for people on any network. Mobile-to-mobile calling and unlimited nights and weekends are included in every plan. Plans include quite a few calling features, and there are five plan categories to allow customers to choose the features and plans they want. Also, the family plans include at least two lines, but allow up to five for just $15 each.
Cons: Alltel’s national plans have high extra line charges – $20 per line, per month for regular phones; $40 per line, per month for smartphones, and you can only add up to four in both cases. Over-minute charges are $0.40 per minute if you exceed the plan's allowance, and roaming charges are $0.59 per minute.
Detailed Provider Information
Plans: There are several plans available to Alltel customers. They include National Freedom plans, Greater Freedom Plans, Family Choice Plus Plans, and Smart Choice Packs.
There are seven National Freedom plans. They offer minutes from 500 to 6000, and a price range between $39.99 and $199.99. The plans include unlimited nights and weekends, unlimited mobile-to-mobile minutes, and the My Circle program. They also include a variety of calling features. The over-minute fee also goes down as you buy a more expensive plan. Extra lines can be added for as low as $9.99 per line, per month. Text messaging is $0.15 per message, either outgoing or incoming.
Family Choice Plus plans offer minutes ranging from 1000 to 2200, priced from 484.99 to $139.99. You can add up to three extra lines, for a total of five lines on the account, for $15 each per month, and you get unlimited nights and weekends and mobile-to-mobile minutes. Only the most expensive plan offers unlimited text messaging.
Alltel also offers an unlimited calling plan for $99.99 per month. It does not include unlimited text messaging, though.
To learn more about the Alltel prepaid option, visit PrepaidReviews.com
Customer Service: Alltel has customer service through phone, email, online account management, and through an online knowledgebase. They also have step-by-step instructions so you can learn about how to use your wireless phone, voicemail, and included calling features.
Credit Check: A credit check will be performed, and you will also need an approved device for some plans.
Contract: A contract of at least two years is required for discounted phones. If you purchase a phone at full price, no contract is required and you pay for service on a month-to-month basis. To terminate a contract, a fee of $200 is charged if you terminate service after the first 15 days.
Payment Options: You can pay through your bank, by mail, by phone, or online. You can also choose Alltel’s auto pay option, which means payments will be automatically deducted from your credit card or your checking account each month.
Text and Picture Messaging: Text messaging is $0.15 per incoming or outgoing message. Alltel does offer picture and video messaging.
Data Plans: Alltel offers Connect Packs which include Web, data, TV, messaging, radio, and more. Prices range from $9.99 to $34.99.Alltel also offers Smart Choice Pack plans. To find out more about the Alltel SmartChoice Packs, check out BBGeeks.com.
Downloadables: Ringtones and wallpapers can be downloaded from the Alltel website. Prices vary from $1.99 to $2.99.
International Calling: Alltel has a page where you can select the country you call most to find out the calling rates offered by Alltel.
Roaming Charges: Roaming charges apply on calls outside of the main calling area or plan conditions. They cost $0.59 per minute. International roaming charges apply when calling outside the USA.
Calling Features: All plans include three-way calling, caller ID, basic voicemail, no answer transfer, call waiting, and call forwarding.
Activation Fee: Alltel charges a one-time activation fee of $25 per line.
Nationwide Long Distance: Depending on your plan, you may be charged long distance and roaming charges. However, many plans include free domestic long distance.
411 Calls: $1.50 plus airtime.
911 Calls: These are included in your bill. They are included in the “Other Charges and Credits” section of your bill.
Phones: With all the latest styles and hottest features, the wide selection of phones from Alltel makes it easy to find a phone you will love. How about the Samsung Delve?
LG
Motorola (including the MOTORAZR)
BlackBerry
Treo devices
Average Reviewer Rating
Solid, consistent service. We are going to be Verizon soon, but the CDMA network here is strong and coverage is EVDO. We are on the lower end of native coverage, but roaming agreement south of here keeps service uninterrupted.
I ordered my alltel phones, I ordered on a friday. They are scheduled to ship Wednesday and arrive Monday. What kind of slowness is that? I called customer service. The first call was disconnected. The second lady was RUDE, she would not connect me to her manager. I regret my choice to go to alltel. At least sprint had good customer service, even though the phones didnt work at my house.
I just ordered the samsung hue ll and it would discharge so much each day that it needs to be charged every single day, the billing from Alltel was bad in that they charged me for service since the day I ordered it online , even though I recieved the phone 4 days later and activated 2 DAYS after that. Their customer service is terrible, they do not address issues, and I do not recomment this company to any one,
If you make your decision to go with Alltel based on their "Wireless Plans" brochure, beware! Their claim of "Unlimited Mobile-to-Mobile Minutes" applies only between Alltel customers. Please note it appears to be the only feature of their many "Plans" that requires the other party to also be an Alltel customer - and nowhere in their brochure is it so stated. Only after my first Alltel bill and a call to their Customer Service desk, was an Alltel Rep able (after a 30 minute search till she found it) to direct me through four sub-menus on their site, to the following definition: "Mobile-To-Mobile Minutes: Call Alltel customers in your plan's calling area. Call forwarding, 411 and Voice Mail calls excluded." (And I thought my health insurance policy was difficult to understand!)
I live in Northwest Lower Michigan. My Alltel service is phenomenal, and I also use the EVDO signal for my home "broadband" internet service. Coverage in my area is superior to AT&T's, especially inside buildings. My only complaint is that coverage could be better in more rural areas, but there's little incentive when population density (and revenue) is low.
Living in Northeast Michigan along Lake Huron it seems that there is little to encourage Alltel to provide better, more reliable coverage patterns for signal strength. There are HUGE gaps in service coverage every few miles along the major roadways N/S and West. (East is only the vast waters of Lake Huron.)
Customer service is friendly and knowledgeable, but the coverage is so bad that my fully charged phone runs out of power in less that six hours due to constantly searching for service.
Alltel is a poor choice in N.E. Michigan -- I am stuck with this service for 10 more months -- I will not renew unless there is substantial infrastructure investment by Alltel to bring dramatically improved signal strength and reliability to my community of service. My selection of a single star is based on the foundation upon which all service rests: signal strength and commitment to improvement. Alltel fails miserably.
Bad experience with Alltel's technical support. When I tried to talk to a guy about my phone issue, he did not listen when I explained the problem. I tried many different ways to explain the problem so he would understand and he just kept cutting me off and saying 'you never told me that'. How many different ways can you say "when I make a call from the cell phone, the caller on the other end will answer but they cannot hear me and when they call me, the phone will ring on my end, but when I answer they cannot hear me?" He just kept saying you never told me that and then he finally said oh, you'll just have to take it to a store because I don't think I can help anyway. I told him that he should try listening to the problem and that he provided very bad customer service. I was with Midwest Wireless and they were bought out by Alltel, so my account transferred. My overall experience with alltel has not pleasant and Alltel would not be my first choice.
I live in southwest georgia, and i have had excellent service with Alltel. There plans are great, have great customer service, and offer international calling. Alltel is very popular and better in rural areas. I travel a lot and i get service everywhere.