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Montana Cellular Reviews
General Montana Observations: Verizon Wireless dominates the entire state with very good
coverage and plans. Alltel has great coverage across the state but
will be taken over by AT&T. They are a good choice at least for the
short term. Cellular One provides good service in parts of the state
and some cool GSM phones currently unavailable
elsewhere, but they have a number of coverage
limitations. There are places in the state
that are served by just one of these 3 carriers,
so check for local coverage in smaller towns.
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ALLTEL
Virtually all of the remaining Alltel network
in the state is to be purchased by AT&T. Parts of the Alltel network in other areas
have been sold to Verizon Wireless, AT&T and ATN, the parent company of Commnet Wireless. There will be a transition period into 2011
during which Alltel customers will be notified
of the changes to their account and service.
Current plans will be maintained, you can
continue to use your Alltel phone as usual,
and the changeover will be relatively painless.
Eventually, you will be offered a new AT&T
phone and, most likely, be assigned a new
AT&T plan. With a new phone you will be using the AT&T
GSM network, some of which will be using
different cell sites, which may affect coverage. While there is some uncertainty in a transition
like this, previous changes to AT&T have
gone smoothly. There is no harm in signing up as a new Alltel
customer today, the changeover process will
continue to at least the end of 2010 and
your service may not change until 2011. Most
of your coverage will be similar to what
Alltel is today, and you will eventually
be able to use AT&T's entire network
and features, including the iPhone. Just
don't fall in love with a new Alltel CDMA
phone...AT&T will need to eventually
replace it. They may not have an exact GSM
replacement, but they do have a large number
of choices. Until then, you can use your
Alltel phone across most of the country and
get excellent coverage and reliable data
service. Alltel phones currently prefer the
Verizon network when roaming. After the transition,
your roaming coverage may change noticeably.
Alltel still offers some attractive plans
that will be available at least through the
transition. Expect some of this to change
under AT&T. Currently, new Alltel customers
are required to only sign a 1-year contract.
Alltel currently supports low-cost "Lifeline"
plans.
Pros: Good coverage, very good prices, a
variety of plans, good customer service,
good broadband services including while roaming.
Cons: The uncertainty of the transition to
AT&T is a little unsettling and it involves
eventually switching to a new GSM phone.
Coverage may change and you may be required
to change plans. Overall, service will improve
for most customers, but can worsen for some.
Get Web-Only Discounts on Alltel Phones
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CELLULAR ONE (MTPCS)
This Cellular One thinks they are the only
Cellular One in the US, so we need to add
their corporate moniker, "MTPCS",
formerly Chinook Wireless. In Montana and
Wyoming they have good coverage and they
are adding new cell sites, bringing new GSM
service to several areas that include parts
of Wyoming. In Texas and Oklahoma, they have
acquired existing cellular networks spun
off by other companies. There is no relationship
between Cellular One/MTPCS and any of the
old Cellular One networks. In Montana and
Wyoming you are dealing with local people.
They offer all the digital goodies and have
a reasonable selection of phones. In TX and
OK they are in transition and you are better
to deal with the their local stores. The
have many choices of plans and some of them
are quite reasonable, and they support Lifeline
plans. They use GSM technology which offers
phones that, in some markets, are not available
elsewhere. Pros: Local folks in Montana and Wyoming,
they offer a variety of competitively-priced
plans including various options of National
plans and Local and National Unlimited plans
with a 'balance' of roaming and local minutes,
a 'rollover'-type option, good customer service
local stores. Cons: Their MT/WY coverage
is weak away from main roads and outside
of populated areas, in Texas and Oklahoma,
their service is 'in transition' and coverage
and service issues are confusing.
Cellular One/MTPCS Local Coverage Maps
MID RIVERS CELLULAR
Mid Rivers covers the east central part of
Montana. They only offer a few phones, most
of which are pricey, but do include some
smart phones. They are part of a local telephone
co-op, so they are pretty friendly and easy
to deal with, and they offer bundle discounts
for various services including wireless,
landline, internet and cable TV. Their calling
plans are a little overpriced, but they offer
some roaming minutes, presumably National.
They offer Lifeline plans. There are extra
charges for each different feature like Caller
ID, Voice Mail, and Long Distance.
NEMONT CELLULAR
The Nemont Telephone Cooperative has absorbed
and renamed Sagebrush Cellular in the northeast
Montana area. They have good coverage across
their area, and have National, Local and
Unlimited plans. Most plans are reasonably
priced. They have added new CDMA digital
sites, and may still have some analog sites.
As part of the local telephone cooperative
you should expect better than average customer
service. They don't have a large selection
of phones.
SAGEBRUSH CELLULAR
Sagebrush has been absorbed into the Nemont Telephone Cooperative.
TRACFONE
Tracfone isn't an actual cellular carrier
but is a major supplier of cellular phones
and service. They are the largest prepaid
wireless company and arrange for their phones
to use whichever wireless carrier is available
in a given geographic area. As a result,
Tracfone actually has more included roaming
coverage available than perhaps any other
single company. They offer price points that
start as low as $8.33 a month and offer all
the advantages of prepaid services. They
offer several promotions with bonus minutes,
and offer plans with 365-day expiration.
Their service is mostly limited to Voice
and Text but does support data use of their
web-capable phones. While their plans are
Prepaid, they offer the option of having
the fees deducted from your account automatically,
eliminating the need to renew on an exact
expiration date. TracFone offers Free international
calls to 60 countries by calling a special
number, and with their International Neighbors
features, can provide a local number in Mexico
or Canada for incoming calls from those countries
at Local rates for both callers. Tracfone
offers additional plan options through NET10, and Unlimited plans with
STRAIGHT TALK. Pros: Coverage and Local service, available
virtually everywhere in the US, good price
plans, no roaming or long distance charges,
Local numbers in all markets, included Long
Distance calling to 60 countries. Cons: You
must use their own branded phones, no smart phones, coverage is determined by the phone model
(CDMA or GSM) which may limit your roaming
coverage.
Get Online Deals on TracFone
VERIZON WIRELESS
Verizon is the largest cellular carrier in
the US. They have taken over a large portion
of the Alltel network and are now dominant in rural America.
Cellular service in a few of Alltel's local markets are being sold to other companies, but no
Verizon coverage will be lost. Their claim
to fame is superior coverage, especially
in the west. They use PCS frequencies only
in a few areas, but they have constructed
those networks well. In the few places where they don't have their
own coverage, they have roaming agreements
with other carriers, normally ones with superior
coverage. Therefore, their "National"
plans, which include almost all of the country,
are about as close to "wall-to-wall"
as you can get. Their reasonably-priced plans
have no roaming or long distance charges,
and they also throw in Unlimited Night and
Weekend minutes as well as Unlimited calls
among Verizon Wireless users both on and
off their own network (there are a few exceptions).
They offer fairly competitive prices, and
often have promotions. They also offer plans
that include Unlimited Voice and other features
at various fixed price levels. Data service
is excellent with various price plans. Verizon
forces their phone manufacturers to offer
a "standardized" user interface,
limiting menu and font variations. This could
mean the screen appearance may not be to
your liking or the fonts may be too small.
Smart and data-type phones require a per-Mb
plan. They have the largest area of 3G coverage in the US.
Pros: Verizon has reasonably-priced plans,
"Unlimited" calling plans available,
extensive coverage, wide-ranging National
plans, excellent customer service and 'customer-friendly'
policies. With such a large coverage area
of their own little roaming is necessary,
but their roaming partners normally have
superior coverage. Cons: Some Verizon plans
are a little more expensive, Customer Service
closes at 11pm, but technical assistance
is available 24/7, there are some billing
transition concerns as they take over other
carriers, they don't offer as many "cute"
phones, they 'cripple' some User Interface
functions like larger fonts: make sure you
can read their submenus before buying. Some
of their data services are not available
while roaming.
Get Online Exclusive Discounts from Verizon Wireless
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