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Cellular forums Home > Archive > Verizon wireless > May 2005 > Verizon or Alltel?
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Verizon or Alltel?
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| I currently have Verizon service in Florida & was wondering if it would be
better to stay with Verizon or switch to Alltel when my contract it up. Am
I right to assume the coverage is the same or not? I can get more minutes
for the same price with Alltel but if the coverage is lousy why bother.
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| DJ Craig 2005-05-27, 10:55 pm |
| I used to have Alltel. Now I have Verizon, and its a *lot* better.
Just my opinion.
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| Larry W4CSC 2005-05-27, 10:55 pm |
| "RichC" <rcacace& #123;REMOVE_TO_REPLY
}@swfla.rr.com> wrote in
news:qEGle.58192$w15.35682@tornado.tampabay.rr.com:
quote:
> I currently have Verizon service in Florida & was wondering if it
> would be better to stay with Verizon or switch to Alltel when my
> contract it up. Am I right to assume the coverage is the same or not?
> I can get more minutes for the same price with Alltel but if the
> coverage is lousy why bother.
>
Switching to Alltel in Charleston, SC, sure improved my coverage. South
Florida Verizon coverage is much like it is here in Eastern SC....a hodge-
podge of acquired cellular and PCS properties using a variety of
incompatible equipment from different technologies acquired from the old
companies. VZW bought a little PCS company in Myrtle Beach because they
had no presence North of Charleston County in Georgetown to North Carolina.
So, you phone has 800 Mhz service in Charleston on the old A cell system
from Cellular One, then has to switch to some rinky dink 1900 Mhz PCS
system north of here. Charleston's old Motorola switch has no presence
South of the county line so they bought up South Carolina Cellular (or
something like that), the country little cellular company that owned from
Charleston to Savannah. Alltel bought up a property on B that covers the
whole eastern side of the state. It simply works better, smoother,
especially in the country.
On the negative side of Alltel, it takes months to get an overcharge off
your bill and is quite frustrating to deal with. If you need to fix
something on the bill, ONLY do it with someone on 611 and check back to 611
DAILY until the 611 TSR tells you that change has already been made....be
persistent.
Alltel will NO LONGER put anyone else's CDMA tri-mode phone on Alltel's
system....unless you pull some trick of deception and program it yourself.
Don't try to put an Ebay phone on Alltel. They want nothing to do with it.
My Alltel is like the old, now defunct, Local Digital Choice VZW used to
have. It covers SC/NC and pieces of TN/VA and GA near the two states, a
little overlap. The plan is 700 minutes, Free N/W, Free LD, 25 Free
incoming text but 10c/msg outgoing and overage unless you buy text
messaging for more, all the usual voicemail/3-way/etc. toys for
$39.95/month. The bill, however is near $48 with all the mysterious tax
and equipment usage addons each month. I have no contract. 8 months after
I ported my Verizon phone number to Alltel, I was sent a letter to call an
800 number and follow the instructions to get another 100 minutes per month
free, which I did. 800 mins for $40 is a nice deal.
One of Alltel's greatest features on these local plans is their temporary
nationwide minute deal. If I'm going to your Florida on vacation, I don't
have to roam like a Verizon Refugee at awful rates any more. I call 611 on
Alltel and tell the nice man I want to buy 100 minutes of nationwide
roaming for $10. This isn't some "extended network" scheme on just some
systems. It's any system the phone's PRL has listed in it and I haven't
found anyplace it won't work. If I use up my 100 minutes, Alltel warns me
and I can call in for another block of 100 minutes for another $10...only
buying minutes I need and ONLY when I need them out of my area. It's a
great feature, much better than having a nationwide AC plan at this price
point for only 450 minutes/month while I'm in my home area only. LDC was
great while it lasted. VZW customers who don't travel often are being
screwed on price/minute.
Just like VZW has, You can call ANY Alltel phone, anyplace, from inside
your plan's coverage area, anytime day or night, and it doesn't subtract
from your 700 minutes, even during primetime. They have a name for it but
I'm not good at remembering marketing buzzwords. With this included, why
anyone would want walkietalkie service escapes me. We talk for hours on
it....even to Alltel phones outside my area...as long as I'm in my area.
Alltel works at my Walmart where VZW has no service unless you're away from
the building in the parking lot.....dammit....(c;
Your mileage and experience may vary. I've been with both and like Alltel
better.
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| Evan Platt 2005-05-27, 10:55 pm |
| On 27 May 2005 13:15:43 -0700, "DJ Craig" <spit@djtricities.com>
wrote:
quote:
>I used to have Alltel. Now I have Verizon, and its a *lot* better.
>Just my opinion.
Where?
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