I'm not the most politically well-informed guy, but i'm morally and ethically strong, and I just think that, though Alltel/Verizon merging poses amazing potential,... take a look at all you just said. It's a madhouse. Rates should be the last thing on anyone's mind. I don't care how bad the economy is. I see people EVERYDAY adding something new to their list of "things I can't afford." Don't you find it funny that the things we can't afford nowadays, are the things we NEED to survive, theoretically.

If you're going to do something big like this, just do it and don't be a pain in our butts when you come to the realization that things would be better left alone sometimes.

Everyone just needs to sell out to at&t and get it over with

I have both an verizon phone and a alltel phone
the verizon service is by far better and this will be a shock to everyone I pay less for verizon.

This is extremely disappointing. My experience with Verizon's customer service was total hell.. Not to mention always being over billed even after disabling text messages and not going over on minutes. wtf? They also claim No dead zones in their new commercial, yet I still live in a Known area that is a dead zone, and verizon won't even bother with a site survey, instead they claim their is a nearby tower, so it must be a problem with your phone.. Hmm.. amazing considering at least 40 other subscribers up here have the same problem.. go figure, thats verizons customers serve us..

YIKES!!!!! Not Verizon!!!!
We went to Alltel years ago because of customer service problems with Verizon. They are a nightmare. We haven't had one bit of trouble with Alltel in years. We aren't going back to that hell for anything. We are already looking for a different service.

I switched to Alltel (my husband's work network) in 2003 after we returned from China and I finally finished a year long battle with Spring. Alltel's customer service has been outstanding. The are always polite, and any issue I have is resolved fast. Plan changes are easy. I've been awarded loyalty perks (free services, add'l anytime minutes) etc. just for remaining a good customer! My reception has been adequate (no problems, good coverage, very few dropped calls). When we go skiing I often have cell service when my husband's AT&T phone does not. My mother has verizon for home/dsl/wireless and has been less than pleased with the customer service and her bills seem high compared to my assortment of services from different providers. Only positive I can think of is that I will finally be able to get a local number in Missouri, and be on the same network as my mom (which may make up for the major rate hike and fewer services and perks that I'm expecting when my bills say Verizon at the top). Other than that ... at least it's not Sprint!

Hopefully with the merger we can have the best of both worlds. Mainly I hope verizons customer service centers get replaced by alltels.

was with pre-altell tried preverizon to verizon - never ever-ever-ever again - altell awsome across the board - verizon's involved I'm gone - at this point I usuall start to cuss!!! ALTELL is the BEST I have dealt with, period.

I was outraged when I heard that Alltel and Verison was going to merg. Verison screwed me over when they took over GTE. They said nothing would change etc. Then I ended up oweing them about $700.00. The service Wasn't as good nothing stayed the same. Isn't there a law against monopolys? I haven't heard or seen anything good about Verison. I will probably look for someone else if that's at all possiable any more.

Why doesn't Verizon let you keep your current rate plan from now on. Why should we, as customers, have to pay more for our rate plan after the changeover?

I tried Verizon years ago and the customer service was awful. I am with Alltel and haven't had any problems. I have better reception than others including Verizon. I compared different companies before I switched to Alltel. I have been very satisfied with my service and the cost. I don't plan on paying more than what I am paying now. I have compared cost and service and I don't want anything to do with Verizon. I guess I will have to find me another company.

My wife and I have had alltel for at least 10 years.We are Happy with the service that Alltel has offered to us.we wish that things would just stay the same.besides we don't think that very many people like change anyway!If we the customers would speak up maybe we can make a DIFFERENCE!

I love alltel, don't even want to try verison after reading everyone else's comments. I got the letter in the mail from alltel saying that you didn't have to worry about anything for now, but I am still worried. I switched to alltel because of the my circle and will be mad if they axe it!

well at least maybe there will be better phones if this merge does take place. alltel has very few good pnones. all there touch phones are crap!!!

I live about 1 mile from a tower, 2 miles from another tower and about 5 miles from another and yet I have to go out on my lawn to use my Verizon cell phone. I have used Verizon for about 10 years, they say I should get a signal.

I have been reading all of the comments posted. The majority seeems to be putting Verizon down and praising Alltel. Apparently, none of you live in Southwest Georgia. Alltel's coverage and customer service is awful. Verizon is so much better in both areas. I have been an Alltel customer since 1986, so I look forward to the merger. I'm in the process in switching to verizon anyway.

All I can say is thank god it isn't AT&T that is merging with Alltel. I spent $600 just to get out of a contract with their HORRIBLE service and even worse customer service.

I spend a lot of time in Minnesota and Iowa - before the last merger when I had Midwest Wireless - my service was awesome and the customer service was personal. Now to Alltel where you have to punch 10 different numbers to even talk to anyone, and the service really isn't that great. I was looking to switch to Verizon possibly, but with all the comments I'm scared to see what is coming our way!

I have to say the same as many on here already have....I left Verizon, went to Alltel, and now I'm forced into being a Verizon customer again! I may as well stay with Verizon though because I've tried just about every cell phone company and they all suck, except Alltel. How come nothing good lasts forever??!!

I had Verizon while living in Michigan. I had great reception and good customer service. Now living in Kansas I have Alltel. Alltel also picks up well in most places. I was happy with both, but look forward to maybe having a better choice of phones. I don't care for the limited choices Alltel has for phones. It's been 4 years, but I don't remember Verizon being much more pricey.

Im a verizon customer, and Im fairly content with my pricing and service. I mean, of course it's a little and sometimes the phone drops calls for NO reason (at all) From what people say, I hope Alltel's customer service does take over. I have had problems with Verizon's billing and such. I have a good bit of friends and family on alltel too, so it'd make it convienient. Im wishing(praying) we can get the best of both worlds..

It is funny how whenever you read these message boards people are all in a tizzy over what might happen down the road. People think because they were screwed over by a carrier 10 years ago that they are going to somehow get screwed over again. Wireless customer service has come a long way (well except for Sprint). Back in the day I don't care who you were with, the customer service sucked. Now, carriers realize that in order to keep customers, you have to keep them happy. Carriers are more than ever focused on retention and reacting on customer needs. This however doesn't mean that you as a consumer shouldn't fully understand what you are signing up for. The guy at the counter has signed up 20 people up today, and might not remember to tell you that if you travel to China and use your phone, you might expect to get a huge bill. If you drop your phone and it busts, don't blame the cell phone company, they aren't in business to give you a new phone every time you drop it. The bottom line is ask questions and you will avoid almost all customer service issues. Finally, don't get in an uproar about your plan. In today's market, plans are very similar between companies. Yes, there are some differences here and there, but voice minutes are a commidity these days. All carriers care about is how much email, internet, and messaging you sign up for. I have worked for Alltel and Verizon, and I will tell you that their corporate philosophy is almost dead-on to eachother. They are a perfect match. All current and new customers created by this merger can expect nothing but good things. Better yet, they use the same type of network. You can guarantee that someone in a cube somewhere is going to make sure that the best pieces of alltel and the best pieces of verizon stay with this merger.

I have verizon, my brother has verizon, my sister has verizon, but my parents has alltel. I have had nothing wrong with verizon or alltel, and the service of both is about the same around where I live. Verizon has better phones though, thats why I switched to vzw. Maybe the merger will put me and my parents on the same network

I tried Verizon, didn't get service in the town in which I lived. I was assured several times that service was available in my home town... not true! Five years later Verizon still has no service in my home town. What happens when Verizon takes over? I have established my business around my cell phone number. I depend on coverage in my home town to do business. Oh, I live in one of the areas that Verizon will be required to divest. I may end up with another cell company all together. Do I loose my current plan rate and coverage area? For those customers who stay with Verizon will end up with great coverage, for those who don't , coverage is up in the air.

Hi all,
I have Verizon and ive been a loyal customer. i have never had a dropped call(on my end) and i always have service. (sometimes when i go to VERY rural communities i am roaming). i am a very happy customer and i am looking forward to the merger between the two companies because my phone bill will be something close to free becasue altell customers will now be IN calling! For you altell customers out there...i know that sometimes change can be scary becasue it is not comfortable and recognizable but im sure the customer service departments of both companies will work to ensure that we have an easier time, all of us, in making the switch. Some of you will be pleased to know, most verizon phones all have the same set up and display, so going to a new phone is so easy! all of the keys, menu, etc. are in the same place and do the same things! This is going to be a very beneficial process!

When my wife wanted to get a cell, I switched from Nexthell to VZW. Of course I think the coverage & customer service @ VZW is great... look what I came from. That was 6 years ago.
There have been issues... like going over text msgs (my fault), but they retroactively credited my bill and a $450 bill went to $100.
Coverage is awesome, but my wife has had no signal when I have. Her phone was the cheap free promo one.
Higher rates?? They were less than Nexthell AFTER adding a 2nd phone!
I have my whole family on VZW, I think even the pre-pay one my brother has is a good deal. He doesn't get charged if he doesn't use the phone that day.

Hated to hear that Verizon would be taking Alltel. My company phone is with Verizon, and the reception just sucks. My personal phone is with Altel and have always had great customer service and reception. If Verizon plans making people happy, they are going to have to step up to the plate and take some Alltel training courses.

I have both, verizon for 12 years and alltel for 10 years i gave the verizon one to my son and family and kept alltel for myself because i prefer their plans and customer service a lot better no hassle what so ever. I can use my alltel phone in places the verizon phone will not standing side by side. As far as crappie phones u get what u pay for free or not. I don't use anything except motorola regardless of if it comes with the plan or not. Personaly i'm hoping alltel changes its mind or better yet buys out verizon.

I ws reading all these comments and StoptheInsanity's
comments mirror my own. I was an activating agent for Verizon since 2001, just got out of that biz in the last few months. Back in 2003, I begged some of the corp VP's to buy Alltel (back then it was Cellular One). Both Alltel and VZW are CDMA and a very good match for each other. When I first started selling plans and phones, we didn't have Over The Air activation. It was all analog, contracts were called in and a one hour activation was typical. Today, it's more like 20 minutes with everything. One thing many people don't realize is that extreme rural areas like the one I'm in are where the rubber meets the road. We're at the very bottom of Colorado. No fancy Sprint, T-Mobile here. AT&T only works here because of roaming agreements with Alltel. I laugh whenever I see the TV commercials for at&t of having "more bars than anyone". That's a total joke. AT&T is not now and will *never* be a rural USA service. When porting became available in 2003, in our area, we had people lined up to port FROM AT&T over to Verizon. Most people couldn't escape fast enough from AT&T's legendary crappy customer service. If you plan to travel to the Western USA in Northern New Mexico, southern Colorado, Western portion of Utah, Northern Arizona, majority of Wyoming, you'd be far better off with Verizon or Alltel. AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile
are mostly 'big city' services and will disappoint you in their lack of coverage. The rural areas of the Western USA are predominately CDMA, whilst urban areas are mostly GSM. It takes on the average 3 GSM towers to do what *1* CDMA tower does with Verizon or Alltel. We see a lot of traveling Texans in this part of Colorado with their fancy AT&T phones and they all gripe about lack of signal.

I think the merger/acquisition of Alltel by Verizon is a good thing overall. A good fit.

Honestly i dont understand why all you guy's go amp'd up about verizon and alltel. they both have and use the same network tho verizon is large but they don't always have good service southeast/southwest areas (but alltel does because alltel is only for the country such as the southern areas only) say what you will bout alltel but you can go mostly anywhere and it will work even on country roads where verizon just drops dead and says no service. but i think its a great idea they want to share each other networks i dont see a thing wrong with it it's only gonna make it better for both companys think about it verizon will work in the country now and alltel will be able to work in the major cities. the only thing that i hope happens is verizon will give alltel some of they phones and i hope alltel doesn't change they calling plans because they are much better then verizon all tho verizon has been trying to beef they plans up but still they cheat u on minutes honestly i think verizon wanna be like at&t wireless but you guy need not to worry because alltel will still be alltel and verizon will still be verizon they just brough into alltel's network so now when feb 2009 comes we all will be sharing each other network verizon said to give custerms better service but correct me if i'm wrong wasn't verizon the one saying how they got every thing on lock and they have the best network it just sounds a little funny to me. and i've had verizon before and they network wasn't all that

Honestly i dont understand why all you guy's go amp'd up about verizon and alltel. they both have and use the same network tho verizon is large but they don't always have good service southeast/southwest areas (but alltel does because alltel is only for the country such as the southern areas only) say what you will bout alltel but you can go mostly anywhere and it will work even on country roads where verizon just drops dead and says no service. but i think its a great idea they want to share each other networks i dont see a thing wrong with it it's only gonna make it better for both companys think about it verizon will work in the country now and alltel will be able to work in the major cities. the only thing that i hope happens is verizon will give alltel some of they phones and i hope alltel doesn't change they calling plans because they are much better then verizon all tho verizon has been trying to beef they plans up but still they cheat u on minutes honestly i think verizon wanna be like at&t wireless but you guy need not to worry because alltel will still be alltel and verizon will still be verizon they just brough into alltel's network so now when feb 2009 comes we all will be sharing each other network verizon said to give custerms better service but correct me if i'm wrong wasn't verizon the one saying how they got every thing on lock and they have the best network it just sounds a little funny to me. and i've had verizon before and they network wasn't all that

Listen as far as coverage goes... I don't care what anybody says Alltel has the best BECAUSE did you know allte pays Verzion to let their customer use a number of verzion's towers. So if you have verzion guess what your coverage is getting bigger. If you have Alltel guess what, your coverage is getting ready to et bigger. They were already liek sisters joined at the hip just wasn't. Their plans are basically the same. coverage will be the same. Hope to God we get Alltel customer service but that is besides the point. All Alltel customers will be grandfathered into the "New" Company. As far as your My Circle goes, you get to keep it. Now Verzion customers will not get Mycircle unless you switch to Alltel before the Merge goes through. This is a great thing. At&t has been top dog in wireless for a long time and their prices didn't go flying up so why would this merge make verzion/ alltel's go up. You have to remember though. At&t are world wide now and carry I huge contract called "apple" yeah they are not going no where for a long time. This is all great and I'm very excited to know almost EVERYONE I know will be mobile to mobile and unlimited to text. SWEET!

i am upset also. i just signed a new contract with alltel last week (my luck:()for 2 years. we had at&t and got lousy service. i had heard good things from alltel, so i decided to try them. most of my family already had it. we had verizon over 5 years ago but i honestly don't remember how the service was. we only had verizon for a short time then since we had to move. i have had satisfactory customer service with alltel,though they did screw up my very first bill by adding 2 extra lines i didn't have. they were professional about clearing up the matter.if verizon and alltel finally do merge, i agree and pray that we get the best of both worlds!

I'm with Taylor. Sounthwest GA has Alltel, Verizon, and spotty Cingular coverage. I had AT&T in Atlanta and hated it at the time Cingular got it because of billing and customer service issues; I liked Cingular's rollover minutes. But, I signed up with Alltel because it was slightly cheaper. I am low-income.

Most of the folks with cellphones I talk to have Verizon, and a lot of them switched to Verizon from Alltel. The tower is Alltel's and lives in Albany, 45 mi from me. I have few dropped calls, but people I talk to often ask me to repeat because it's garbled. Verizon folks tell me they don't have that problem.

On Alltel I and my daughter have identical Motorola W-315 phones. Hers died in the last month of the 1 yr warranty. We got a new battery. It didn't fix it. Alltel replaced the phone with a refurbished. It died again a month later. We get no discount on a new phone until December, and apparently this is a new policy on 90-day from renewal date upgrades. I can't cancel the 2nd line or change my plan. Don't they claim that you can do this anytime?? Customer service is a nightmare. I'm hoping my other phone doesn't die until December!! [It's been a good phone, by the way]

Internet is weird. I was warned that 'service in my area is iffy' and 'it's not a replacement for regular Internet service so don't look at streaming video'. Internet service down here is iffy anyway! I want to be able to use Internet on my laptop [cell as modem] and on my cell when out, and I want to be able to view videos on the Web sites like NASA, Home Depot, Loew's, Red Cross, NOAA Weather, etc. I drool when Verizon talks about their $19.95 unlimited Internet! I pay $25/mo for iffy laptop Internet and an extra $5.95 for Axxcess Internet. I am told I can't get the streaming video for another $10 a month and keep my cellphone-as-modem service. Sometimes I get 3 min or so before I have to redial on laptop, and sometimes hours. But folks with DSL say they have the same problem here.

I hope the merger comes soon! But, I hope the FCC will allow Verizon to keep Southwest GA and not sell our service to somebody awful like Cingular! I wouldn't mind if Google bought it, though :) I hate Alltel's Axxcess interface and wish I could replace it with iGoogle.

I have had Alltel for a while now. It is the only one with service where I live. I actually really want this merger to happen. I don't like Alltel's selection of phones at all, but Verizon has a lot of the ones I have wanted for a while.

Why is everybody complaining about Verizon's service? If it is mediocre right now, it will be much better after the merger. All of Alltel's and Verizon's towers will be combined. In fact, signal strength may be even better than what Alltel currently has, which is already very good. And be realistic here, Verizon is not a stupid company. They know what they are doing. I am sure that the best parts of the two companies will survive the merger, as it would make the newly formed company much more successful.

What I am wondering is what will happen to the "Chad" Alltel commercials LOL!!!!!

I am probably going to switch to Verizon soon anyway, so the merger will mean I will have amazing signal. Until it happens, I will still be happy since I text most of the time [and you don't need a lot of signal for that :)].

I LOVE VERIZON!! My parents have all-tell as Verizon is not sold were they live but my phone gets better service. If you think that just because Verizon is buying out All-tel that your service will be crappy than think again. They do not just buy the name but the towers as well. The best towers of either network will remain and service for everyone will be improved. It is unfortunate that a few people will be sold off to other carriers but I will love to have my parents on my network. Recently the company I work with put all the carriers up against one another and Verizon won in MOST markets of course not all but is not the main service our company uses. Forget 5,10, or 20 numbers I can call for free with All-tel. Try around 1000 or more people in the company. Oh ya, the prices are the same.

I have been a Verizon customer since 2000 I have only had one issue with them. For a short time I switched to Alltel which cost me more money a month then I am paying now with Verizon. When I had an issue with Alltel they passed me around like a three dollar bill. No one had any knowledge of the equipment they gave me to use so I ended up going thru phone after phone with Alltel. In the short six months I was with them I went thru 6 phones trying to get the problem fixed. In turn I canceled my service because they would not resolve the problem even after I contacted a CEO of the company. I then went right back to Verizon where I have had no issues what so ever. I pay less, have better coverage and better equipment. To hell with only 20 numbers unlimited for 99.99 you can get every number in the world unlimited for that cost on Verizon. This merger will do them some good and help out the market better. I think people should just deal with it. And if Verizon is so bad Qwest wouldn't have just sold out to them as well. I will be a Verizon customer until the day I die.

We were with midwest wireless and our service was outstanding. I had service everywhere! Then Alltel bought Midwest Wireless and ever since that happened our service has been horrible we can not make phone calls with a 5 mile circumference from our house. Alltel would not let us out of our contract which we didn't even have with them we had with Midwest Wireless. And their customer service has been horrible except for one lady. I will give them credit though, they do have some great plans.

Loyal Alltel customer since 2000. I love Alltel. I have tried Sprint an ran as quick as I could. I like Verizion phones, but not there plans. I have been told that Alltel cutomers would be granfathered in with the My Circle plan from an Alltel rep. Hope that this is true and that nothing extreme happens with the merger.

Alltel plans are good...commercials are good...customer service is "iffy"...SERVICE SUCKS!!!We have been Alltel customers for 2 years(after Cingular kicked us off for being 50% out of network after 8 years of being customers)and I cannot use my phone while I am in my house. The service is almost non-existant in the town where we live. Alltel tells me that there is no reason why it should not work and does the *update thing which does no good whatsoever and sends me on my way. This has been going on for 2 years. My contract is about to be up and I am going to wait until Verizon takes over and see if that will help things...if not, WE ARE OUT OF THERE WITH ALLTEL!!!

Started with Cell one in 1995. Alltel bought them. I have never had a complaint that either companys' customer service did not bend over backward to rectify. I have great plans and five lines with Alltel. I hope everything remains the same or improves. If it doesn't I'll start looking for another carrier. If Verizon is as bad as everyone above says they would have gone out of business some time back. They should and probably will take the best of both but if they don't they lose me and others. If losing a lot of folks does not get their attention and get problems fixed then they can sell out. There are more choices out there.

I am not looking forward to the merger at all. Our only choices in our area are Verizon or Alltel. I have been with Alltel for almost 2 years and I chose them over Verizon for a reason. As far as Verizon's phones being better, they may have a bigger selection, but they castrate the options on the phones. With my phone through Alltel and the Motorola program, I have made a lot of free ring tones for my phone from music I already had. A friend of mine has the exact same phone through Verizon and has to purchase ring tones because they have disabled that function on their phones. Not to mention the rates. My brother-in-law and his family pay twice what we do and have fewer minutes. If Verizon can come up with a similar plan to the one I have with Alltel and stop castrating the options on the phones, I'll be willing to give them a chance. Otherwise I'll just do without.

I have a personal verizon phone and a business alltel phone (only because I work for alltel). These two companies are miles apart in coverage and customer service where I live. Verizon coverage in Georgia and Alabama is better in most areas I frequent. I usually always have a signal where I travel throughout the southeastern states with verizon. Alltel is more hit and miss. I find verizon to be 10-15 % higher for comparable plans than alltel but the better coverage and far better customer service and technical support makes the extra cost per month a no brainer. I'll pay a small premium for superior coverage and far better customer support any day. Over a 29 year telecom career, I have worked for ATT, Bellsouth, SouthernLINC, and Alltel. I am ashamed to say that Alltel customer service and tech support is by far the worst in the industry ( with the exception of Sprint). They are not even close to Verizon's support. I am welcoming this acquisition like there is no tomorrow. Many Alltel employees will be in for a huge paradigm shift when this acquisition goes through. Verizon will hold them accountable for the way they treat the customer (something Alltel does not do). I use alltel service only because I have to at work(and I sell it for a living). I am looking very forward to this acquisition and the synergies it will bring.

In our area Alltel has only roaming service. However, prepaid Alltel service is a secret tip among people who know, and we drive more than 100 miles either way to get a phone.Alltel uses Verizon and many other CDMA networks for roaming and it's coverage in many states is excellent, especially in rural areas other big companies do not care about.Off course, you get the most if you have a digital/analog triband phone like i do. So I use T-mobile for my regular needs and Alltel pepaid as a back up for travel plus rural areas. Alltel has the best prepaid plans and the best prepaid service from all carriers. I also went through their regular plans and they are very well tailored and make a lot of sense. Changing plans is easy( try it with Verizon or Sprint, you will never get out of contract!). I have cellular service since 1993. First Cellular One, which was taken over in our area by the "old' ATT. Great service. Then it became Cingular , a horror, then the"new " ATT- bad. I know too many people with problems with Sprint and they did not imprees me when i dealt with them. Metro PCS is a joke. I tried Verizon for a week and I left. Horrible stores, miserable customer service, extremely expensive.I am happy with t- mobile in our metro area, also good for international travel, however it sucks for domestic travel and for rural areas. That is where Alltel prepaid came in. I always hoped they would expand their own service area to us but look what we got instead of this.
When you choose a cell phone provider you have to know how and where you will be using the service.
I hope that they will be very, very slow with the nerger. Verizon is going to bulldoze them to dust.

I hate to tell you the bad news Carl but Alltel no longer offers analog service. We also no longer sell tri-mode phones. We do have dual and tri-band phones for digital. Even these phones offer little to no advantage on roaming since the three mhz frequencies on the phones are either for a cdma frequency, a gsm frequency, or international frequency not used in the states. So, what you think is analog is not unless you are roaming on another carrier (and most of our roaming partners have gone 100% digital. Our two biggest partners, Sprint and Verizon have gone digital). Now for the pre-paid. Alltel's pre-paid service covers the same coverage area as their post paid national freedom plans. There is neither an advantage nor disadvantage in coverage to have one type of plan over the other from a coverage stand point. I do agree with you on one point, Alltel offers an excellent pre-paid plan.
With so much misinformation floating around the internet concerning the telecom industry, I hope this helps.

VERIZON ROCKS......SOLD MANY CARRIERS IN MY RETAIL CAREER AND HAVE COME TO A CONCLUSION THAT VERIZON HAS THE MOST RELIABLE NETWORK....MOST EVDO (HIGH SPEED) COVERAGE THAN ANY OTHER CARRIER AND WHO HAS THE BEST PHONES AROUND.

I have had alltel for 7 years now and have had a few problems, but nothing major (I am pretty tough on phones and end up having to get a new phone every year). But I enjoy the service. My family is looking to combine plans and the merger has me curious as to whether or not we should wait. A lot of my family live in remote hilly country and alltel works wonderful, but verizon doesn't. I like mycircle and would like to stay with alltel but I don't want to run into problems with verizon and lose the reason that we went with alltel. I have spoken with a few people in my area and some of them have heard that it is possible that verizon would not grandfather our contracts in, charge us huge fees to convert our plans to verizon plans and try to make us purchase different phones. Has anyone heard anything about what all verizon's plan includes for existing alltel customers?

I have read all these comments.. I find it quite funny that many of the people posting are Verizon employees or agents for verizon. Why is verizon trying to hard to convience Alltel customers that everything is going to be so great.. I am a verizon customer.. The reception is great. But the plans and pricing is not what they are bragging about, Verizon is a very greedy company .. It is very true they restrict and strip everything on thier phones including the free games and ringtones .. They are also trying to convience everyone that the in network is so great .. How can it be better then my circle when my circle let you cross between other networks .. Alltel give you more minutes in thier packages .. Verizon's basic package only allow 450 mins when everyone else allow 750 for the same price or less .. Verizon will nickel and dime you to death for services and products that should be free or included in your phone and plans but as for the quality of the calls you cant beat it .. Verizon would be the perfect company if they were not so greedy and thought about the customer every once in awhile insted of how to steal another dollar.. It would be wonderful if verizon combined my circle and in service to us loyal customers instead for finding ways to steal another penny .. Greed is the only complaint i have with verizon.. Yes I understand they are in business to make money .. But takea look at wall street how is that mentality working out for them ..

I've had almost all the major carriers. When i came here to arizona i joined alltel.. The phones were terrible but i didn't have any problems at first. Then my phone stopped getting signal. I'd go to the store where they of course had repeaters in the building and i'd get reception so they would tell me nothing is wrong with the phone. I ended up getting a $400 bill for a phone i couldn't even use.. so i switched. I was with Tmobile for 4 years but got tired of them trying to push blackberries and sidekicks. I'm with verizon now and have the LG Dare. I haven't had any problems so far but i've only been with them for 2 months.

only thing I don't like about alltel is the phone choices...I'd like a nicer phone. Wish the iphone or some of the nice blackberrys were available. Alltel is honest and reliable though and I've been happy. I do get dropped calls now and though just for the record. They all have their issues and with basically 2 big companies after this merger who knows what'll happen price and service wise.

Well right now i live in north eastern Ohio, and I have Alltel. The service is HORRIBLE. My calls drop every other call, and never have service. It takes an hour to send a text message because service lacks here. Customer support is horrible, 99% of the people are Indian, and I can't understand a thing they say.. I broke my phone once, and I had to pay $50 for a new one. The thing is that the phone was originally $10 without any discounts. It's absolutely horrid. I'm looking to move to Verizon, but I have to wait until late April.

I have had all services, and ALLTEL has been the BEST of all! I like the plan I have and the original phone I had I got rid of because it was too restrictive on what I wanted to do for ringtones. The only issue I had was when I acquired a MOTO Q I could not picture text and I was told that I had to pay $649 for a ppc 6800. NOT! I got everything situated and I love my ppc 6800 and the service I have. Verizon is very price and they gave me a few problems but I switched out for different reasons. T-mobile and sprint are THE WORST I have ever dealt with and don't even get me started on AT&T! I hope the merger allows me to keep my fantastic ppc6800 it allows me to do everything I need including google directons. I also get to use my own pics for background and I can use any ringtone I want. I hope Alltel stays Alltel and Verizon stays Verizon after the merger....I love my phone and plan (they can reduce the extra taxes and fees though).

Alltel made the mistake of mistreating too many customers, else they would have been the ones buying Verizon. They waited too long to change with the times and the tide of competition. That's a shame too because Alltel was one of the first cellphone companies out there. I remember when I shared an account with other family members and Alltel was one of the last mobile companies still charging for family members' calls to each other. Plus at that time, because we were already customers, we were ineligible for any new plans that would have saved us a lot of money. So when I could finally go get my own cellphone account, I decided to go to Verizon. I loved the phones from Verizon and the customer service. That was 6 yrs ago, and I've never looked back.

We have cancelled all our verizon services due to the nightmares in customer service! Horror stories that may not be sutible for children. So we will not be able to elaborate at this time. We cancelled our home phone lines, our verizon business lines, our bus. advertising, tv, and internet....
We went to alltel to upgrade our phone on oct 17, 2008. They told us about some billing changes if we upgraded to a new phone. First they told us we would be double billed next month ($400.00+) due to billing changes to start billing in advance. Second. There would be a minor increase in pricing,(no big deal). We decided to use our insurance to obtain a new phone so our billing would not change. They will also try to tell about the changes..after you get your new phone..find out first!!!
Bottom line..Verizon/Alltel merger...find new cell phone company..We have been with Alltel for over 10 years...Very few problems..Very good service..We would not want to change but would be forced to..

I am an employee of alltel and i can tell you that i have only been there for three months. On the other hand i have had alltel for 12 years. I can tell you that i have had dealings with other carriers and I love my service i have driven across the country on three different occasions and hit two areas that didnt have service. This is the truth, If your service gets bought out by another you cant get worse service. It WILL only get better. Regardless of what anyone says this is a fact. Alltel owns more towers in the US than anyone else. They also have more roaming agreements then anyone else. That is not to say that if you have alltel you will have coverage everywhere. Some places just dont have service. If you are that anal about these things you can just buy a satelite phone and you can use it anywhere in the world. You will pay three dollars a minute but it will work. Just check FACTS.

You know there are always going to positives and negatives in everything. Alltel has a lot to offer and I will miss the fact that it is based out of Arkansas and has the Southern "hospitality" mentality. That means most of the Customer Service is really there doing what customer service reps should do and serve the customers. Alltel is reputable and known to pull for the customers. Both Verizon and Alltel are on CDMA network and should fit together like a glove. The merger will take some customers to other companies that buy out the parts that overlap, however, Verizon will make the best decisions and keep the best network of the two in those areas. Alltel customers will also be able to keep their rate plans, however, once you sign a new contract to get a new phone once the merger is finished I am sure you will then have to choose from Verizon's plan list. Good news is, since they will be one in the same, I am sure Verizon will consider adding new plans to "mimick" the Alltel plans such as the My Circle features. It has been a great marketing aspect for Alltel and Verizon would be very smart to identify and use that format! Don't worry....all will work out and the coverage will be awesome. Also, Alltel is known for the customer service, it is known that most of the call centers will remain and I am almost positive that the standards of customer care will be put in place for all the call centers to ensure the best Customer Service in the Telecommunications realm! It will only get Better!!

Ive been with Alltel exactly 1 yr there customer service sucks there phones are crap in the past year Ive had 8 phones all took a crap or malfunctioned The only thing I like about alltel is the coverage & my circle everything else sucks!! Im going to Verizon ASAP.

If your curious were dealing with the alltel idiots in Billings Montana.

I have been with Alltel for 2yrs now and have just completed my contract. I'm renewing my contract for another 2yrs before this merger so i'll have my great service and no B.S. billing. I went to Alltel from Cingular when I moved to Fort Smith, AR. I've been back in Lake Charles, LA for a year and still keep my services and phone number. I don't have an Alltel store for atleast 200 miles in any direction. My service is wonderful and customer service is always willing to work with me. Once my new contract is over in 2010, I'll see where the merger has led us and then make a dicision whether to continue or move on. Here's hoping for the best. I love Alltel and if you do too, you better renew or extend your contract now and enjoy a couple more years of great service.

I have had Verizon for about 8 years now. Early on, I hated their customer service and dreaded dealing with them. It has gotten much better. Perks have improved throughout the years as well; more free talk time and unlimited verizon to verizon calls. Most of my friends and family are also on the verizon network so I have never gone over on minutes. I am looking forward to the merger because I currently live in an Alltel area. My reception is fine and I don't drop calls, but I can't currently use many of the features that I pay for in my home area. I can't download picture messages or use mobile web or navigator. I do spend alot of time outside of my home area, in Verizon zones. It isn't too much of an inconvenience, but it will be great when the two companies merge.

I started my 1st cell service with Alltel in Texas in 2004. I loved the service and everything about the customer service. I have never tried a verizon phone but I hope the VERIZON will take what makes Alltel awesome and implement it with what great stuff they have to offer.

We have been with Alltel for over 10 years and never had any problems. My husbands job has him traveling 50 states all the time and we never have reception problems. We were married 5 years ago and honeymooned in Kauai and talked to our best friends in Florida sounded like they were next door. I'm really not happy that Alltel is selling out on their customers. We'll try Verizon for a month and if things are bad will definately find a different carrier. We're a very very unhappy Alltel Customer.....

being an - ex alltel subscriber as well as a verizon subscriber in my moves. i personally agree with what is said. the people that love alltel for pricing will have a difficult time of the price differences. i can say that i hope for satisfaction sake that grandfathered plans stay gandfathered for the customers sake.

I think everyone will be happly suprised and pleased with Verizon. I have never experienced any negitave issues with cust service in the past 5 years. I drive truck and have nothing but praise for coverage that I get across the midwest and in the most rural of areas in NE, ND, SD, WY, CO, ID, MT, MO, AR and so on, so jump in head first and enjoy the ride it can only get better!!!!!!

I live in Kansas. I live in the hills, and there isn't a large-ish town around for at least a two digit amount of miles. I know for a fact that verizon doesn't work around here. Everyone around here has Alltel, mostly because its the only thing that works! I like my plan that i have and i'm not hounded when i can not pay it. Verizon will be the death of my cellphone usage.

I have been an "Alltel" customer since 1992. We started with Lincoln Telephone, merged to form Alliant, were bought out by Alltel. Each of these changes, we were wary of how things were going to change. Each time we were merged, it was a lot of worrying over nothing. Each carrier change worked out better in the long run for us as customers. We might have just been lucky through these mergers, but I guess I can look at Alltel/VZW as just another step we have to take to keep a device that we have come to rely on so much. Around our area, if you don't have Alltel, you don't get reception.

Seems like Randy and I live in the same area (we may even be family). I'm in SE Nebraska, South of Omaha, and have been forced to use Alltel all along, because of coverage across the state. However, my experience with Alltel Billing has been horrible, and their Customer Service Jekil and Hyde. Theyve repeatedly screwed up my bills, and wound up sending a collection agency on me. I had to go through the Attorney General's Office to get that fixed. The bills still get screwed up every time I make a change (Free to Roam 100), then try to discontinue the feature. Thank goodness I'm semi-retired, and can spend hours on the phome with them.

We have been Alltel customers for years, not a problem with them, good service, etc. Do not want Verizon!! Have complained several times over this merger. Why can't Alltel leave well enough alone?? If this merger happens, we will be switching to AT&T.

Hopefuly by the end of today, we should have answers to a good number of unanswered questions regarding the merger.
The FCC meets today November 4th, 2008 and the merger is on their agenda.
I am live blogging the commission meeting. You can join me here
http://cellgeek.blogspot.com/2008/10/live-blog-fcc-commission-meeting.html

Kallan, thank you very much for covering the meeting. I read through the blog, I guess us "Alltellians" had better hang on tight and see how the ride over to VZW goes. I talked to a co-worker today, he has VZW and LOVES it.

Tony, yes I live in the same general area as you do. I'm southeast of Lincoln. You are right on with the comment of spending hours on the phone when you make changes on your plan. Billing issues are the 1 bad thing with Alltel.

I use my cell phone for tethering, it is that or dial-up. The thing that concerns me is how much VZW charges per kb, and unlimited use is IMHO expensive.

I had verizon back in 2003. To make a long story short my wife and I had a family plan with unlimited mobile to mobile and no roaming nationwide... or so we thought. My wife went to visit her mom in NC and I stayed In Fl because I could not get time off and so i told her to stay a month and make the visit worth it. When she got back I got a bill for.. get ready $1,177.00 I freaked out I checked over our bill and as I had already known we only spoke to each other. I added minutes up for all the calls not to each other and those were well below our limit. Verizon not only charged us for every mobile to mobile min the charged us ROAMING! for them as well. 5 years later I finally get a woman on the phone who cant even find the account so they dismissed it due to no record. I went to alltel and never looked back, unfortunately now it looks like a shinny new IPhone is in my future.

I personally LOVE Verizon. As for the customer service they provide I think it is great. For those people who think that it is bad obviously have never been with another provider or they have never been in the field of customer service. Some people don't understand that paying for a package deal of text or internet benefits them far more even if they don't use the full package. So before you start bashing them for stuff make sure YOU know what your getting into and GET INFORMED!!

i like the way you think.

except... ohio, va, georgia, and the carolinas are all est.

I have been using ALLTEL since they took over Centurytel. service was great untill a couple months ago. Been having issues with dropped calls and text not going thru untill the next day....hope it isn't a precursor to the so called merger....is a buy out really a merger?

My husband and I had Midwest Wireless for several years before it was bought by Alltel. We have been very pleased with Alltel's customer service and plans. We have driven cross country from Minnesota to Maryland, Arizona, Wyoming, and all parts in between. We only had two dropped calls, one in the mountains of New Mexico and another near Emporia, Kansas. When we added my parents to our plan it was simple and we love our calling circle option. It has really helped our bill. We have the national plan and my husband only pays $97/month for his plan and my and my parents add-on phone at $13/month each.

verizon buying Alltel is the best thing that could happen to Alltel customers. Yeah verizon charges more because you get what you pay for. Being an Alltel customer why would you complain. You're gonna keep you're same phones but 10x the coverage you're getting now. If I were you I would be peeing myself with joy.

Verizon buying Alltel is an amazing step foreword in the wireless industry. If you have Verizon or Alltel its going to be really good. More coverage and more phones.

ive gotta say with all the bashing of these companys and the lets stand up remarks no matter what u do the companys and the goverment themselves make that decisions. we are just all gonna have to hang on for the ride ive had cellularone they merged i dropped them and tmobile till i had my phone stolen and account hacked and they sent me to collections cause they wouldnt do anything about it. i have had cingular and hated them recepition was horrible and phones are junk and ive had alltel good rates service is alright but didnt care to much for the customer service. now i have verizon and i am not lookin back. i do pay a little more but service is good and i dont really like this touch screen stuff just seems like more to break or more to go wrong but there workin on inproving them and i guess the point of all of this is of two things first why are we designing mobile devices when the batterys there producing for them arent able to meet the required charge so i have this great multifunctional phone and is built good and dose this and that but my battery because of all the features lasts wat and hour thats smart and second to that is no company is perfect yeah verizon has its employees that are sometimes sucky and sometimes helpful and great but i dont have a cell provider for the person on the other end of the line i have them cause they get good signal and they simply work and do wat i need done so i can get on with this thing i have called life. what is the purpose of building quanitee in stead workin and building quility phones and service verizons not dump niether is alltel im sure there descussing things and well i dont see how merging two strong networks isnt going to be a good thing att has just as bad reviews so if you dont like verizon switch no biggy to me personaly i think they suck they accually charge more for there phones too forget that and there phones are way out dated and with the refurished stuff they sell ur just askin for what might of been someone elses problem forget that. the only thing i have really bad to say about verizon here is there shipping of products if they tell u tommarrow ur waitin 2 days cause they have to have everything approved by manager just got a new alias2 the revised version i decided to get a extended battery cause i use the crap outta my phone and they ordered it and i had a few other shipping problems with the bluetooth i got for it so the credited me for the bluetooth my full refund and let me keep it but they also gave me a free extended battery. no questions asked and heres the down fall that was tuesday they said overnight it still isnt here not till this morning on thursday but i called in and they credited my next bill for 70 dollars so im not complainin you really got to be curtious and avide to get what u want outta these companys no matter who you goin with but as for me im stickin with the network and hopin they keep quality not the other way around thanks for letting me express my opinion

Me and my father are both with alltel and we have been very pleased with their services we were with Verizon before and they totally took us for all we had we ended paying them 500.00 for a service we cancelled over 2 years ago because they claimed we didnt pay even though we kept the recepit....if alltel customers end up payin the verizon rates we will be forced to change services

im an alltel customer, but personally, im frekin excited for the merger, mainly because, verizon is going to be the sole carrier of the blackberry storm, comming out this friday, i really want that phone but i wont be able to get it till after the merger, verizon isnt currently in my town at all, we just have sprint, at&t, t-mobile, and alltel, i was acctually part of the western wireless alltel merger and came out happy from that, so be optamistic :)

I feel good about the merger, I hope that verizon will consider the mycircle plan as well, as the starting at 7:00 plan. Oh! by the way I am a verizon customer.

I was a long time Midwest Wireless customer. Very happy with service. Alltel moved into town and cell phones were never the same. I became so disgusted with it I drove 45 miles to the nearest Verizon wireless store and decided to "test drive" their service for 30 days. I got the phone I wanted and have had no problems. They are a few dollars higher than alltel but it is worth it.

So I have no idea what everyone on here is complaining about!!! I worked for Verizon Wireless for two years and I hated it... I hated dealing with ignorant people asking stupid questions and wanting everything free free free... I have had Verizon Wireless for the past few years and I absolutely LOVE my service!!! Every time I have had problems with my phone or bill or anything I had it dealt with extremely fast and extremely pleasant... The stores are awesome here in Tualatin Oregon, and their customer service calls centers have wayyy improved... I have had TMobile, Sprint, AT&T, and now Verizon, and I am extremely happy with this merger... I can tell you from first hand experience, the people you call into to talk to about your problems have heard it all and gone through every stupid question before, and excuse them if they are working their ass off and can't pour sugar and syrup over your lame ass questions... Oh and also, Verizon Wireless is NOT the same as the idiots at the Verizon Communication side.. the idiots who deal with your home phone and your internet and your tv are not in any way affiliated or connected to the Verizon Wireless customer service representatives. They just share the Verizon name... Obviously if they were the same you could deal with your wireless and your other crap with just one phone number. Verizon Wireless reps hate the home phone service more than you do. Get over it. I am happy with my service and to all the people out there who wanna switch to AT&T??? Go ahead.. You will be miserable, and I will have shorter waits in line and on hold, and my rep will be less angry and can help me now that she won't have to deal with your stupid comments. Thanks!

I get full bars everywhere I go and I have verizon. I live on the west coast, so i don't know anything about alltel, except that the glimmer is a sweet phone. hope it comes to verizon!

I gave up AT&T for Verizon and I could never be happier. AT&T was always surprising me with a new fee and my bill always seemed to get bigger and bigger while my cell service deminished. I have had a couple different carriers and Verizon is by far the best, most reliable, and resonably priced dealer I have had. The only good thing about AT&T is the rollover minutes. The only good thing about Alltel is the "My Circle". There is nothing good about T-Mobile and Sprint just needs to go away. Well, there you have it! Verizon is the best!

I have alltel prepaid, Verizon doesnt really have a prepaid program, What they do have is really overpriced so im wondering are they going to axe alltels prepaid and force me into their aweful plans or are they going to keep it??? how would i find out or should I buy a track phone now? Even one of those in my area is cheaper than Verizons prepaid

I was with Alltel for 24 years and had always thought they were great until I needed customer service help. Then the bombshell hit!!!! I found out that they wouldn't help when it was in desperate need. I went to Verizon and haven't had any problems at all. I'll be glad when Alltel is acquired by Verizon. The customer service is 24/7 not a cut off time. Thanks Verizon keep up the good work!!!!!

I personally will miss Chad and his bashing of the other cell companies

I personally will miss Chad and his bashing of the other cell companies..

"Come and Get your Love !!!"

i am currently with alltel and i live in texas.
when i first moved here about four years ago i was looking for verizons service and i was told that only the bigger cities have verizon...im from florida and thats the service i basically grew up with...
the only thing that i can think of is that i just opened up service on my own to alltel and now this is going to happen...i dont mind it but i had just bout a new blackberry and i love it but when alltel bought cellular one a few years back...they had everyone gradually get new phones and change to alltels rate plans...

well i would want a new verizon phone but i dont want to end up paying for it again...and i hope that the rate plan stays the same as the alltel....dont get me wrong if the smartchoice plan for the blackberrys are cheaper and have more minutes, cuz i pay 90 to 100 dollars for 500 minutes, all for it but it better have all the stuff alltel offers and more like tha nights starting at 7 unlimited txt at no extra cost....
but at least i can call all my friends and family with verizon for free tho without having to use up my minutes
and i hope that all you corporate executives read this comments and take note that if we have to use this service than it has to be want us the customers want...have us build our own plans and what not...and i hope that the customer service stays like the alltel customer service....

I have 4 Verizon phones with 700 shared minutes, unlimited texting plus a Canada plan and pay approx. $124.99 per month. I have one USCellular phone with 900 minutes and unlimited texting and pay $109.99 per month. I live on OKC, OK. There is no Verizon service here in OK. Since Verizon shares their service with other carriers in their markets, the other carriers do the same for Verizon. I get better reception with my Verizon phone than I do with my USCellular phone. I also get better coverage than my friends with Alltel. I have had excellent customer service with Verizon as well. Like many others, I just wish they would close this deal soon.

Sevice is only as good as the cell towers in the area where you are using your phone and also the quality of the phone you have purchased. Any carrier can drop any call at any time - get over it. The real loss here are those poor folks in Little Rock, Arkansas (nearly 3000 I hear) that are going to lose their jobs...talk about crippling a local economy.

Will my alltel bill go up once verizon and alltel merge

We've been with Alltel for 12 years. I think Alexander Graham Bell was our first sales rep! Customer service has always been very accommodating, cell signal good but not always excellent. Should be interesting with Verizon. I like their "Storm"

hi i just wanna know one thing will alltels plans stay the same or what ?

I started with Cell-one When I checked out the industry verizon was Crap and no local service here and much more expensive, we had some concernes when Alltel took over but it actualy improved. I must say am very aprehensive of this merger what with verizons rep for poor cosomer service and higher rates as I have some friends that still have verizon and don't like them.

I LOVE Alltel - great customer service, VERY rarely have dropped calls, great prices, still get calls when there's too much congestion for my friend's with AT&T to place or receive calls (Mardi Gras parades, etc.). As long as the customer service & pricing provided by Alltel aren't altered too much with the merge, it may not be so bad. However, I'll take a few more congestion issues from AT&T if Verizon's prices & CS kick in at the rate they are now!!

I have been with Alltel for about 5 years now, with no problems. Their customer service is amazing, MyCircle is awesome, and the 7P starting nights and weekends are very good. On the other hand, I am particularly fond of Verizon's phones. My first phone with Alltel was a RAZR V3c. Good phone, but for some reason the signal strength wasn't as strong as others. Since then, I have had LG phones and ALWAYS have service. I am military, and alot of military buildings have very thick walls, but I still manage to get at least one bar. I have had people with Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile, and even some off brand companies that couldn't get service in such places. On that same note, I do alot of "tethering" and make alot of my own ringtones. For those who aren't familiar with the term "tethering"...it is basically the ability to use your phone as a modem. You connect your phone to your laptop pc using a USB charger cable, type in the dial-up number (mine is #777 with Alltel) and it connects to the internet just like dial-up modem connected to your home phone line. I have always had at least a 160kbps download speed, but since Alltel has switched their network to "EVDO" or high-speed, my dial-up speeds have been above 600kbps. That speed matches what some of my collegues using actual modems and paying 50$ or more a month ON TOP of their cell phone bill. Why? There is only one downside to tethering, and that is you can not talk on the phone at the same time. On top of this, Alltel's internet usage is determined by use of minutes, where as Verizon's is determined by Kbs. Not fond of that. I pay 20$ a month with Alltel for unlimited normal, audio and video texts, along with unlimited internet usage (it still uses minutes tho) Whereas, Verizon's unlimited data plan ALONE is 15$. Verizon is definitely more expensive, but they make up for it with their phone selection. Verizon also disables the ability to use your own ringtones on their phones, thus, forcing you to buy all of your ringtones. As far as other companies go, Sprint is a ridiculously horrible company. Don't waste your time. I have had them for internet and my landline...it was a nightmare. I now have them under the name "Embarq" ONLY because I live on a military installation and it was either them or Cox Cable. Since more people on this base use Cox than Embarq, the servers would consistently be full and speeds would be horrible. If verizon wants to be an amazing company, they should expand their fiber optic landline spectrum. That would be amazing, could you imagine downloading at 50MB a second?

ok... I have alltel and i cant complain i have enjoyed it very much considering the only good phones i have come across are the HTC touch Pro and the Blackberry's. ok verizon offers a wider range of service and merchandise. i am not informed much on the subject but i am aware that verizon is a good service not to mention the largest wireless network in america. NOTHING IS PERFECT!! What I am trying to say is that you guys are all complaining about verizon is "hell" and so on and so forth. get over yourself! your going to find zones where your service doesnt work in any network. like i said i have alltel and its no walk in the park when i am traveling much less forty miles away where i lose service. SO "alltel is sooo amazing!" yes i was being sarcastic for those who are too slow. verizon is just as good as alltel so stfu and get over it. It's going to happen!........Bye! =D

Ok, all Alltel people get to keep there plan and phone.

1. Verizons phones are not locked down anymore. You can use BlackBerry Maps, Google maps, ect on BlackBerrys, Bluetooth is unlocked, everythings unlocked on the phones. its Verizons new OPEN NETWORK!

2. You idiots who keep saying "I had Verizon 3-4 years ago, and customer service sucked, so did the service" THAT WAS 3-4 YEARS AGO! Its not like that anymore, and you wonder why Verizon has the best customer service ratings, better then Alltels customer services reps which some can't even speak proper ENGLISH!

3.Verizon has the fastes and best world internet coverage.

4. Do you think Verizon (a much larger network then alltel) could survive with alltels plans? Verizon has 3 times to customers and workers... WHY do you think ALLTEL put themselves up for sale.. AGAIN!

I have been a Verizon customer for many years and have had NO problem at all. Tyler is dead on with his post I have seen a huge change (not that I was unhappy before) with their customer sevice.It is the best bare none. My wife uses at&t for work and have a friend that uses sprint...guess what? they all agree Verizon is far better. All you All-tel customer's will be fine.

What a bunch of crybabies! Hang up and drive!

Hey guyy. Im quite excited about the merger, I have had verizon for about 4 years now and its amazing i always have service when my friend (who is alltel)doesnt.Everybody I know who has Alltel is disappointed with it and cant wait for the merger! But then again i live in Phoenix,Arizona. So yeah I cant wait! :P

uhm does anyone know if you will have to buy a verizon fone when this merge happens? email me at b.bass55@hotmail.com....thanks

The Verizon retail stores will program your Verizon phone SID to an Alltel SID. NO CHARGE. NO NEW SERVICE AGREEMENT. So if you are in Verizon/Alltel home market and Alltel coverage is better for your location by all means have your Verizon SID changed.

I actually work for one of the above mentioned companies. The merger is going to be as painless as they can make it. There are going to be downfalls to every cellular carrier there is, and there will also be perks. From what we have learned so far, there is not going to be a drastic takeover where Alltel customers are forced into a Verizon phone/or plan. Alltel plans are cheaper, and we are hoping for the customers sake this does not change. The one huge difference between the companies are the wireless data card plans. Alltel's is unlimited internet/data usage for the same price every month, where as Verizon has different plans that include a certain amount of data. I think the merger will bring in the best of each company to offer the widest range of service options to all subscribers.

When is the merger of the companies happening? Will my calls to verizon customers be free starting 1-1-09? No Alltel or verizon rep can answer any questions for me.

The actual close of the merger has been pushed to Jan 9. No changes will be made immediately. Customers will be notified first of what options are available and what changes will be taking place. So do not expect a drastic change the day of signing. All in good time.

Word around here is that the altell towers are being sold off. I can't see that happening if the merger is for all property. I have had altell for around 10 years and have been very satisfied, there has not been a time in recent memory where we have lost a call or not been able to make one. I have apprehension about what is happening, but am going to give it all the benefit of the doubt. I wonder though about getting out of a contract if the service does deteriorate.

Ugh. Alltel is terrible. I can't wait for this, I was planning on switching to Verizon as soon as my contract ran out with Alltel anyway.

Ok, STOP complaining!

You Alltel people really have NO idea WHAT is going to happen.

Verizon is NOT making you change your plan, YOUR rates will be the same, you will still have My Circle.

You will also get the largest 3G network, Largest Calling Network, 85 million ppl almost, NO ROAMING IN THE US. Verizon has a better customer service then Alltel.

And ALLTEL, YOUR NETWORK, put themselves up for sale, When you put something up for sale, YOU WANT SOMEONE TO BUY IT. LOOK at your network, they were in a HUGE debt!!

Yall are just being annoying.

o yea, BTW, Alltel will not be owned by Alltel anymore starting Friday Jan. 9, 2009. It will be owned by Verizon Wireless, but the Plans and name will stay until you see your Alltel store's name change to Verizon.

Just for the record, I am an AT&T Customer and happy with them All you's Alltel people, ifyou dont like it come on over to the new at&T just as a previous poster said things are different for all the companies that 3-4 years ago (Except Sprint.. or as I like to call it the devil's network)

I love the new at&t and think all you CDMA users are comparing the old GSM to the new CDMA. Try out the new at&t and see for yourself. The hell with Alltel and Verizon (Sprint your allready there)

I just want you let all of yall know that yall are all cry babies!!!! If you have service with alltel were you live you will have it with verizon too....Verizon uses alltel towers dummys!! and plus customer service kicks butt.... and yes they do have prepaid and internet cards!!!! and they are CHEAPER!!!
SUCK IT UP!!!!

both verizon and alltel suck. At&t may not be the best carrier, but at least they don't force data plans down your throat like verizon and alltel do.

i love my alltel service but verizon has the better phones and they both dont have features like att where you have a SIM card and the un beliveable pacages

Ok, STOP complaining!

You Alltel people really have NO idea WHAT is going to happen.

Verizon is NOT making you change your plan, YOUR rates will be the same, you will still have My Circle.

You will also get the largest 3G network, Largest Calling Network, 85 million ppl almost, NO ROAMING IN THE US. Verizon has a better customer service then Alltel.

And ALLTEL, YOUR NETWORK, put themselves up for sale, When you put something up for sale, YOU WANT SOMEONE TO BUY IT. LOOK at your network, they were in a HUGE debt!!

Yall are just being annoying.

o yea, BTW, Alltel will not be owned by Alltel anymore starting Friday Jan. 9, 2009. It will be owned by Verizon Wireless, but the Plans and name will stay until you see your Alltel store's name change to Verizon.

NOT ALL ALLTELS ARE GOING TO VERIZON DUE TO DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE LEGISLATION.SO MR INFO NOT ALL YOU INFO IS CORRECT. SOME STORES WILL REMAIL ALLTEL UNTIL THERE IS ANOTHER BUYER FOR THE DIVISTED ALLTEL STORES. ALL THE NON DIVISTED STORES WILL SLOWLY MERGE WITH VERIZON.

AND NOT ONLY THAT YOU DON'T KNOW THAT VERIZON WILL LET THEM KEEP MYCIRCLE SO STOP GIVING FALSE INFO OR INFO THAT YOU DO NOT KNOW.

VERIZON AND ALLTEL WILL INFORM THERE CUSTOMERS ON WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. LET WILL LET CUSTOMERS KNOW WHAT THE OPTIONS ARE AND WHAT THEY NEED TO DO.

ALLTEL AND VERIZON REPS CAN GIVE OUT INFO TO CUSTOMERS ON WHAT THEY KNOW. THAT IS WHY WE STATED WHAT WE CAN GIVE YOU. SO MR INFO IF YOU DO NOT KNOW THE RIGHT INFO I SUGGEST YOU DO NOT GIVE ANY INFO OUT AT ALL.

As a former Verizon, and LONG time Alltel customer, I too fear the future! I can only hope that Verizon has enough common sense to keep the VERY BEST parts of Alltel! I am not looking forward to Verizons high rates at all!

I am a Altell customer for about 8 yrs now. I love Altell, only concern that I have is, Just because Verizon is taking it over dont overcharge us on our first bill. Were not the one that should get a swift kick in the butt when it was out of our hands to start with. I wish I would've known more about the switch before I signed a new contract for a new phone a few months ago. I would've stuck with what I had and waited for all this mess to be over before I signed anymore contracts.

Well I've Been With Alltel For Some Time Now, Great Service All Around & Customer Service Amazing.... However Verizon Does Have Top Of The Line Phones For GPS & Internet Users Overall.... Although Verizons Service Down Here Inn The South East Is Not So Great Inn Rural Areas Like Alltel Is, Away From Major Highways, Towns Etc.... I Just Hope That They Get All These Towers Out There, Both Verizons & Alltels Working Together For The Best Service All Around, Although They Are Working With Two Different Technologies On Their Towers.... Guess There Will Be A Phone That Comes Out That Will Work For All Their Different Technology Towers Inn Harmony.... Now If This Is Done Correctly, Then The Merger Will Be Well Worth It For Excellent Customer Coverage All Around.... I Don't Mind Paying Just A Bit More For Such Service, But I Sure Am Not Looking Forward To Dealing With Ignorant( lacking of knowledge or comprehension of the thing specified ) Customer Service However Or Just Plain Out Rude.... I've Got No Patience For That At All....

All the things people are praising Alltel for ultimately led to its demise. You can't run a business forever handing out discounts and freebies. My Circle for one is a money sink for Alltel because it costs Alltel money every minute you call someone that is not Alltel for free. A lot of small companies try to get big by using popular plans to attract customers, but once they start getting bigger they cant afford to do it with all these new customers anymore. Verizon's costs for continuing My Circle with about 80 million subscribers total would be enough to sink a company the size of Wal-mart. As a consumer if you really like a company you have to be willing to support the company even if that means $5 dollars extra on your bill or that you don't get essentially unlimited calling for 59.99 a month because you only call 10 ppl. Think about all the companies in the late 90s that offered free dialup like NetZero. They are either gone or they charge because when you start to take on new customers your costs scale exponentially.

My advice is to wait the merger out and don't jump to conclusions yet. See it from both sides ie, if you see rate hikes as being screwed, freebies would mean you screwing the company you love so much.

Wow I cannot wait for the merger to make Verizon a huge coverage area..I've had at&t/cinguliar for 6 years when I escaped their trap and came to verizon i've had nothing but wonderful service anytime i've called most helpful people the ones with at&t/cinguliar was awful lied to you everytime you spoke to them.. dropped calls all the time could be right next to a tower which I knew was theirs and have no service with a brand new phone! so the sooner the merge the better for our coverage!!!

I have been looking at some of your comments for alltel and verizon. I work for alltel at russell cellular in louisiana and the latest as far as the merger is going to be that verizon is going to share towers and phones and things but when they do get the merger totally taken care of then they will still let alltel customers keep their plans and we will still be in seperate markets (divested & non-divested markets). No worry alltel customers will still have the same features whether verizon comes in or not.

Why hasn't anyone mentioned the fact that back in 2004 or 2005 about the buyout of AT&T Wireless division when the government past a bill to all Wireless Customers to take their numbers to other carriers. To AT&T this meant BILLIONS of dollar lost to buy the phone numbers they had. So they put up the department for silent bidding. Does anyone remember who won that bid?

Is this country saying it is OK to buy up what ever you want if you have the money to throw around? I guess so. This so called merger is gonna cost Alltel Millions, if not Billions of lost customers. Verizon is the lamest Telecommunications on this planet. They do not care about their customers concerns nor do they care about the quality of service they offer their customers. Which is by far unethical. "The Customer Is Always Right." In verizon's eyes, the customer is THEM and them alone.

Everyone needs to realize that a cell phone company is a very profitable business:
1) TV commercials cost a lot. You cannot watch very much TV without being pelted by a barrage of Cell phone company ads (and insurance).
2) If it wasn't would there be so many Cell phone companies?

I started with Sprint, did my two years plus, when I wanted a phone upgrade I was told I had to sign another two year agreement. I don't care for one sided ultimatums so my answer was to switch to Verizon. Same thing there: after my two year contract was up I needed an upgrade and was given the same one sided ultimatum so I switched to Alltel. Now again my two years have been served.

I do this for one simple reason, Cell phone companies are making a fortune off of us- so after I do my time I refuse to get trapped in another contract or pay an outrageous price for a very small and extremely underpowered computer with a transmitter. Simply because the only difference between a cell phone and a modern low end laptop computer is the phone has a screen 1/30th the size without the graphical power, a "keyboard" 1/14th the size, 1/32th the storage space (at best) and only 1/100th the computation power-- but they retail for nearly the same? Bite me.

While this merger has a lot of people talking-- the fact is we are paying premium prices for regular service. In my experience the bigger the company gets the less accountability matters, and the more service suffers. For example, outsourcing customer service to a foreign company. "allo dis is Sack how may I kelp you?"

Frankly I will stay with Alltel/Verizon for now until they make a change that will result in a higher bill for me or when I need a new phone, if I'm faced with the ultimatum to spend big bucks or sign another contract I'll respond with a polite, "No thanks", and give them the imaginary bird by taking my money elsewhere.

I have not been pleased with the phones that we got from Alltel.We have asked about upgrades but we can't wihtout getting under another contract.Customer service are always very nice.You should be able to get an upgrade without being under another contract.

i think verizon n alltel should merge i was wit alltel for 5 years now im wit verizon i dont like alltel i love verizon, u get better service, most everyone i know either ha alltel or verizon that will make things alot better i think cuz u have more ppl u can call n itll b free.. i just wish they would hurry up n do it already ive been waiting on his to happen sience it all started

verizon rules and better things are to come! Verizon passed on the Iphone for a bigger reason and that was to work on the network! At&t sold out cause they suck but when it comes down to it the contract with apple will be up in 2011 or 2012 and when apple iphone comes to verizon they will have the last laugh, better coverage better phone! What will At&t do but sellout to verizon! This time Verizon has every reason to get the Iphone to steal customers from At&t like they did to verizon! The only difference is At&t will no longer be doing nothing but begging verizon to buy them bankrupt m*****f*****s out can anyone say karma!

Sean you do not know what your talking about, AT&t is gsm and verizon is cdma not compatible at all. The reason why verizon bought out Alltel is due to coverage. Alltel covered 58 more areas that Verizon did not cover. Alltel was the largerst rural coverage carrier. Proven fact look it up. When you classify carriers you have to look at it by region such as metro, rural, and global carriers. People need to realize when companies merge then its less competition and less to choose from, We here in America are like to be given more opportunities and more chooses to chose who we want to be with. Orginally Alltel was suppose to buyout Sprint but due to economic situations it did not happen.

I have Alltel service and love it. My plan is strictly local with 3000 anytime minutes (which I never use all of). I seldom go out of town but when I do I have a prepaid phone which I use (Cingular-now AT&T). I do not want my plan to change but I would like a new phone. Actually, I would prefer to just get another home charger but I haven't been able to find one, so I'm thinking about another phone. With this merger, I don't know what to do now. Can I go to Verizon to get a phone or back to Alltel? Will the phone be acceptable to Verizon once the merger is complete? I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Judy for the time being you would have to go to alltel. Your still an Alltel customers for the time being if your in a Non - Divistied area. The best thing to do is go to your local Alltel Store for more information.

I have been an Alltel customer off and on for several years along with Sprint, ATT, etc. I usually shop around for the best service for the price. This last time I got a two phone deal with Alltel and the family circle deal where I can call up to ten people anytime without any extra minute use. I have been quite satisfied with my service and plan. I stopped by a Verison booth at the mall today and asked what was going to change. They didn't know if there would be a continued service like "my circle", so that may be lost. From everything I saw, the rates were going to be significantly higher for possibly a lesser service. This concerns me, but there are always other companies to consider, if that happens.

We thought T-Mobile was the group from h----. Now we have Alltel and have had nothing but the best treatment and service. This makes me weak to even think about changing, especially when everyone is expressing such negativity about Verison! Can't somebody do something?

To finish..........the only difference I see between Alltel and Verizon is that with Verizon they offer way fewer minutes for WAY MORE $$$$$$$$. My service is great with Alltel. I do not have reception issues, dropped calls or problems dialing out even up north. Verizon bought Alltel, my bill is going to go up....SAY IT AINT SO............

Just some things I noticed. People complain about Verizon as much as I used to. I work for their customer service and did have an issue with customer service in 2005 when I was a customer. If you have an issue most of the time it is fixed and we credit over 45 million dollars a quarter (alot of it being jackasses wanting free stuff, but also mainly we try to fix our mistakes. Understand that not every agent is a good apple, look around at work and see what people you work with, we do the same thing at verizon. But at least when you reach someone the hold time is usually on 3-5 mins not 10-15 like with at&t like I currently have or 20 + mins like I spent on hold with a customer porting in from sprint waiting for some information to complete the port. After 20 mins we got a girl in Manila Philippines who didn't have her headset on or hear us but all we could do was wait for about 6 mins when she finally realized she had a call and answered it.
Verizon did do me pretty wrong in 2005, hence why I haven't switched back, at the time cloning was not widely known about customer service wise, and rep was rather rude (granted when facing a $350 overage bill to numbers in a city and state where you know no one at all makes you start cursing alot when told your a liar) .. But they don't win awards for best customer service because most of thier agents are like that.
As for Alltel ... the worst experience I ever had my first phone I bought full price to avoid a contract cause I needed it for only 2 months, when I canceled they kept it active for 3 more months and I called and told them I cancelled 3 months ago and gave the information, they said I can't cancel while under contract I emailed corporate and gave them copy of bill of sale stating full retail no contract and they canceled it removed my bill owed they said. Recieved a bill the next month, they had removed the amount due but never cancelled, I spent next month emailing CORPORATE they (different person) told me I was under contract cancelled it and evening with proof that I did not have contract put a ETF and bill on my credit report which took 1 year to get removed because of thier disputes.

Point of my rambling is, if you have a bad experience with cst service it is probally the person you spoke with, if you have problem with Corporate, wait 10 years and they will get bought out.

I have Verizon and live in the "twilight" zone on the stateline between 2 states where Verizon and Alltel have towers. I live on the Verizon side.
My service has greatly diminished these past couple of months, with many dropped calls, "searching for service" on the phone, and brand new drained batteries overnight as my phone struggles to connect to a tower.

I have been told by the Verizon reps that they have had to power their towers back from the stateline to make sure during this transition that they are in compliance.

My question is how long will this take? Getting tired of not being able to reliably use my phone at home for business and long distance.

I would hope that when all is said and done (hopefully sooner rather than later)that I will be sitting in the best possible spot between both towers...those from Alltel across the stateline and those from Verizon that is 1 mile away from my home.

If anyone knows, please let me know if it will be soon. Can't hang on much longer, but don't want to give up Verizon.

My younger brother broke my Verizon Wireless phone and my parents go by a Verizon plan. I was wondering, since Verizon and Alltel have merged, if I will be able to use one of my cousin's old Alltel phones as a replacement even though we have a Verizon plan? Please help!

Well, I for one will be very happy when Alltel goes away. I had them for three months with a warranty that I had long distance from all 48 states. NOT When I was driving big trucks, I was in all the continental states. Many wanted a credit card number just to call home. I took the phone back and eventually they tried to sue me for breaking their two year contract. Didn't work. I have been on Verizon for several years, never a problem. Matter of fact when the merger finally gets finished in Arkansas I will go with their wireless internet.
Alltel was my worst nightmare and Verizon came to the rescue.
Have a great day!

vzwfan, you should be ashamed of yourself talking down on a company you work for, where is your intergrity at. Alltel is ranked for the best coverage in the south region by JD Power assoiciates, Alltel is the best company that is out there to me, I had verizon and for the last 3 months I had to call in for credits constantly they had to credit me over $900 because reps lied and change my stuff constantly without my knowledge and also misinforming me not only that they kept on changing my password.

Posted by: vzwfan
October 1, 2008 3:14 AM

"VZWfan have a personal verizon phone and a business alltel phone (only because I work for alltel). These two companies are miles apart in coverage and customer service where I live. Verizon coverage in Georgia and Alabama is better in most areas I frequent. I usually always have a signal where I travel throughout the southeastern states with verizon. Alltel is more hit and miss. I find verizon to be 10-15 % higher for comparable plans than alltel but the better coverage and far better customer service and technical support makes the extra cost per month a no brainer. I'll pay a small premium for superior coverage and far better customer support any day. Over a 29 year telecom career, I have worked for ATT, Bellsouth, SouthernLINC, and Alltel. I am ashamed to say that Alltel customer service and tech support is by far the worst in the industry ( with the exception of Sprint). They are not even close to Verizon's support. I am welcoming this acquisition like there is no tomorrow. Many Alltel employees will be in for a huge paradigm shift when this acquisition goes through. Verizon will hold them accountable for the way they treat the customer (something Alltel does not do). I use alltel service only because I have to at work(and I sell it for a living). I am looking very forward to this acquisition and the synergies it will bring."

This person downs a company he works for should be seriously ashamed of himself. You should standby for the company you work for.

i really like alltel, but their service really isnt that great, and the phone selection is horrible. Im a teenager so of course.. i want a good phone. Alltel really doesnt have any. There more of a buisness service. i had the motorokr from when it first came out in 07 to about mid-january this year, i used insurance once and they both fell apart fast. im excited for verizon merging, i hate Alltel's phone selection!! not just because i want a good phone, but because i have had such a bad experience with all of my phones, not to mention my service is crap

verizon will dominate all cell companys in the end it will be the last one standing i live in s. carolina and verizon has great service here and in NC, GA, FL ,KY been to all of these places with great service and i don't know where yall get off on sayin vw is higher priced then alltel i had both services before and guess wat alltel was more......

I'm not looking forward to this switch unless Verizon keeps Alltel's old cell tower in my area. I live in a rural part of the Charlotte, NC area, and both Verizon and Sprint stink as far as coverage is concerned. Alltel, on the other hand, gave me full bars and I've never had a dropped call. I won't mind Verizon as long as I continue to get full-bars as I had before with Alltel.

My name is Chris, and have a question. I know that Verizon, and Altell have merged but I was also told that AT&T is buying half of Altell, and Verizon is buying the other half. I recently upgraded my Verizon cell phone for unlimited texting to domestic users! Here's the catch that I was told, I went in to get that taken off since they merged so I could save $10 okay. Well the lady told me that I would still be charged because Billings is being bought by Verizon, and Lockwood is being bought by AT&T so there for I can't take that off my account unless I want to be charged! How does that work? I think that's stupid considering that my girlfriend is on Altell, and lives in Lockwood is only 15 minutes away from me but there still going to charge me? I just want to know whether or not I can find out if this is true, and whether or not this lady at Verizon is just blowing me smoke just to keep me from getting off this plan so that I can't save $10, and that they can make a buck for there business? Thank you, Chris!

i have had service with alltel for several years.My two year contrac has been up for several months.Sinc verizonwireless has took over cani cacel my internet service if my computer goes out