VIAERO WIRELESS
Viaero is a GSM carrier that uses a mix of
800 and 1900 MHz channels in rural Colorado,
Nebraska, Kansas and border areas of eastern
Wyoming. Coverage in most areas is excellent
with some holes in some remote areas. Since
Viaero specializes in rural areas, they are
usually the top carrier in those areas, where
other carriers serve only minimally. This
company is run by tekkies so coverage and
operations are top-notch, often better than
the local land lines. They are rapidly widening
their coverage footprint, sometimes into
surprising locations like the San Luis Valley
and eastern Wyoming. You can even request
to have them build a tower near you if you
can come up with enough neighbors' signatures.
They offer very reasonable on-network "Unlimited"
plans, including several for fixed location
(home) use for both voice and Internet access.
They're a good substitute for a wireline
in most areas. They have a large number of
reasonable plans with National coverage including
'calling-circle' plans. They offer to pay
the Early Termination Fee if you leave another
carrier before your contract with them is
completed. Their phones will roam in Mexico
and Canada and they offer discount International
Long Distance add-ons. Viaero does not lock
their GSM phones, making it possible to use
your Viaero phone with a local SIM in foreign
countries. They have discounts for people on various
support programs.
Pros: They offer reasonably-priced plans
with convenient price points, including Local,
National and Unlimited plans. Very good to
excellent coverage, good customer service,
local stores, good nationwide roaming, good
data service.
Cons: The network can be weak in extreme
rural areas, but still beats the competition
in most places, and you can ask them to add
a tower! Most Unlimited and some promotional
features are limited to their own network.