Overview:
Alltel Communications is based out of Little Rock, Arkansas, and is conceivably one of the USA’s big four telecommunications providers. They are committed to serving their customers and providing residential, business, and wireless service.
Pros: Alltel has My Circle, a program that allows users to call their favorite ten numbers as much as they want, at any time, for people on any network. They also include that for free in any plan over $59.99. Mobile-to-mobile calling and unlimited nights and weekends are also included in every plan. Plans include quite a few calling features, and there are four plan categories to allow customers to choose the features and plans that they want. They also offer an amazing North American long-distance and international calling program.
Cons: Alltel’s family plans have high extra line charges – unless you buy a plan over $59.99, you will have to pay $20.00 per line, and you can only add up to four. Over-minute charges are $0.40 per minute over your allowed minutes, but the price does go down as you get into more expensive plans.
Detailed Provider Information:
Plans: There are several different plans available to customers of Alltel. They include National Freedom plans, Greater Freedom Plans, North American Freedom Plans, and Smart Choice Packs. There are seven National Freedom plans. They include minutes from 400 to 6000, and a price range between $39.99 and $199.99. The plans include unlimited nights and weekends and unlimited mobile-to-mobile minutes. They also include a variety of calling features. For any plan over $59.99, you get My Circle included for free. The over-minute fee also goes down as you buy a more expensive plan. Text messaging is $0.15 per message, either outgoing or incoming.
There are seven Greater Freedom plans. These allow customers to receive a larger local calling area and free nationwide long distance. The plans range from $39.99 to $199.99, like the National Freedom plans, and they also include unlimited night and weekend minutes and unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling. The monthly minutes range from 700 to a whopping 6500, and any plan more than $59.99 gets free My Circle. Again, text messaging is pay per use.
The North American Freedom plans allow customers greater freedom when travelling to or calling other countries within North America. These plans include no roaming for package and off-peak minutes in Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and you can call to those countries toll-free. All plans include unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling and My Circle calling from the U.S. coverage area. You get 1000 night and weekend minutes. The only thing wrong with this plan is that over-minute charges are still pretty expensive. However, they do decrease as you get into more expensive plans. The plans range from 450 minutes to 2500 minutes and the price ranges from $59.99 to $149.99.
Alltel has family plans – there are four categories. The National Freedom plans range from $39.99 to $199.99, and monthly minutes range from 500 to 6000. You get unlimited nights and weekends and mobile-to-mobile minutes. However, like the individual plans, My Circle is not included on any plan under $59.99. You can add up to 4 extra lines, but if you have a plan under $59.99, you will have to pay $20.00 per extra line as opposed to $9.99 for lines on more expensive plans. The Greater Freedom plans range from 700 minutes to 6500 minutes, and have all the same conditions as a National Freedom plan. The price range is also the same. To make life easier, Alltel has both My Circle and My Circle Premier plans for families. This allows you to get a second line of service for free. It also offers you a choice between unlimited nights and weekends or free text messaging. The prices for these plans are 1000 minutes for $79.99 or 2000 for $109.99. The premier plan has 2200 minutes for $139.99, and includes both unlimited nights and weekends and text messaging.
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 that 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 to have an approved device for some plans.
Contract: A contract of at least two years is required, depending on the plan and device. A termination fee of $200 will be charged if you terminate your service after the first 15 days.
Payment Options: You can choose to pay through your bank, pay by mail, by phone, or online. You can also choose Alltel’s auto pay option, which means that 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: You can choose to buy the All Axcess pass, which allows you to get unlimited text, picture, and video messaging, and access to Alltel’s Web. It’s $19.99 a month. Otherwise, you will be charged per KB used. Lastly, Alltel offers SmartChoice Packs.
To find out more about the Alltel SmartChoice Packs, check out BBGeeks.com.
Downloadables: Unlike some other companies, Alltel allows you to pay $5 to download ringtones, game, wallpaper, and applications when you buy their All Axcess pass. However, airtime charges and downloading charges may apply.
International Calling: Alltel offers international calling plans, and for those that don’t call overseas that often, they also have 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 can cost up to an additional $0.59 per minute. International roaming charges apply when calling outside of 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 paid for when you pay 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 r510?
Some Additional Phones Available:
Samsung
LJ
Motorola (including the MOTORAZR)
BlackBerry
Treo devices
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.
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.