ALLTEL WIRELESS
The "old" Alltel has been split into several pieces and sold to different companies. The carrier now known as "Alltel Wireless" is operated by Atlantic Tele-Network (ATN), the parent company of several North American cellular companies. While the Alltel network is now owned by ATN, most functions will be operated by Verizon Wireless through Spring, 2011. There may be a few hiccups during the transition, but we don't expect many. Alltel should look the same next year as it does now, maintaining very good coverage and innovative plans and pricing. Even customers who have been dropped by Alltel have been done so in the friendliest manner possible.

Pros: For now, all plans, including "My Circle", will be maintained and Alltel users still have all Verizon Wireless customers as part of Alltel's "Mobile-to-Mobile" family. ATN will continue to use the Alltel name and will most likely keep Alltel plans. There is no downside in signing up as a new Alltel customer today. We expect any changes to be minimal and the ownership change should not cause any operational problems. You will have very good coverage, good customer service, a fairly advanced network and excellent roaming capabilities. In most cases you'll be dealing with the same people at Alltel stores. You'll be able to use your Alltel phone across most of the country and get excellent coverage and reliable data service including while roaming. Alltel phones prefer the Verizon network when roaming for the foreseeable future. Alltel offers excellent plans, a good selection of phones and good broadband service.

Cons: Wireless Internet roaming off the Alltel network is limited to 50%. Anything greater will result in wireless Internet service being discontinued. Some Alltel stores have been closed requiring you to either travel farther for in-store service or use online service only. The uncertainty of the transition to another company may hold some surprises, but for most customers, service should improve.