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Montana Cellular Reviews
General Montana Observations: Verizon Wireless dominates the entire state with very good
coverage and plans. AT&T has acquired the Alltel network in Montana
which provides good coverage across most
of the state and their network will be upgraded
through mid-2011. Cellular One provides good service in parts of the state
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
locally for coverage in specific areas.
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ALLTEL
Virtually all of the remaining Alltel network
in the state has been purchased by AT&T. Other parts of the Alltel network have
been sold to ATN which will continue to use the Alltel name,
and Verizon Wireless. The transition to AT&T will occur through
Summer, 2011 as it launches service on a
market-by-market basis. For now, there will
be no changes to customers' phone numbers,
rate plans, network coverage, customer service
contacts or bill payments. AT&T reports
that during the network integration, customers
will be able to get GSM devices comparable
to their existing device at no additional
cost. Customers will be notified of any changes
to their account and service. Eventually,
you will be assigned a new AT&T plan and offered a new AT&T GSM phone which will be use the AT&T GSM network, some
of which will be using different cell sites, which may affect coverage,especially while
roaming. While there is some uncertainty in a transition
like this, previous changes to AT&T have
gone smoothly. Your local coverage should not change, and
you will eventually be able to use AT&T's
entire network and features, including the
iPhone. The Alltel network had excellent
coverage and reliable data service and under
AT&T we expect that to improve. Follow the changes on the Mountain Wireless News Blog.
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AT&T Review
AT&T
AT&T is what was once Cingular, which
was part of SBC, which took over AT&T
Wireless and took AT&T's name. They have
a large GSM network, but in the west, have
a lot less developed spectrum than in the
rest of the country. That is changing with
AT&T's acquisition of Alltel Wireless
in 76 markets in the western US. They claim
that their Alltel purchases will all be converted
to 3G GSM by July, 2011. Parts of the Alltel
network already provide GSM coverage. Other
areas will be converted on a market-by-market
basis. With GSM technology, AT&T will
roam more readily internationally, but there
are areas in the US with no GSM coverage.
AT&T's takeover of several cellular networks
has improved their service in some areas
already, including Alaska. AT&T offers
a good selection of GSM phones including
the Apple iPhone. Parts of what was the old
AT&T Wireless network in the interior
west is still not among the best. They still
suffer from some coverage 'holes', but they
are updating some of these areas. Most improvements
will be made in the "new" markets
and increasing data capacity instead of adding
cell sites in older areas. In several markets
where AT&T operates at 1900 MHz only, we have been disappointed, but not all
AT&T 1900 MHz-only markets are equal.
AT&T offers a variety of plans including
Unlimited minutes and services, and 'calling
circle' plans. They have extensive data coverage.
One of their greatest assets is also their
worst problem: the overwhelming success of
the Apple iPhone that mostly uses the AT&T
network. It has overloaded their system resulting
in dropped calls, interrupted data and slower
service.
AT&T Review
Pros: AT&T has a large network and covers
much of the nation, usage is transparent
whether on- or off-network, good digital
and data services, good national plans, "Rollover"
for those who can use it, "Unlimited"
calling plans available, a good selection
of phones. Improvements in coverage have
been substantial in some areas, lacking in
others. Excellent international roaming capabilities,
and AT&T will now supply the unlock code
for all phones, except the iPhone, after
3 to 10 months. Additions of Alltel, Unicel
and Centennial network purchases give AT&T
substantial rural coverage improvements.
Cons: AT&T plans aren't as generous as
some, customers can only access GSM networks
which are not as universally available in
the US as CDMA, customer service varies from
above to below average, some markets have
a large number of dropped calls caused by
large data users.
Get Web-Only Discounts on Wireless from AT&T.
CELLULAR ONE (MTPCS)
"MTPCS" is the corporate name of
this Cellular One, 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 Mississippi, 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 companies.
In Montana and Wyoming you are dealing with
local people. They offer all the digital
goodies and have a reasonable selection of
phones. In the south they are in transition
and have contracted out their customer service,
so you are better to deal with the their
local stores. They 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 the south their service
is 'in transition' and coverage and service
issues are confusing.
Cellular One/MTPCS Local Coverage Maps
iSMART MOBILE
This GSM carrier is offering cellular service
in Bozeman, Montana. They have Local Unlimited
plans and National roaming available and
offer several phone models, no contracts
required. They hope to expand across the
state and currently suffer from having limited
GSM roaming available in Montana.
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.
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NEMONT CELLULAR
The Nemont Telephone Cooperative has acquired
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 have a modest selection of phones.
TracFone Pros & Cons
TRACFONE
Tracfone isn't an actual cellular carrier
but is a major supplier of wireless phones
and service. They are the largest prepaid
cellular 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 below $9 a month and offer all the
advantages of prepaid services. They also
feature monthly plans and offer promotions
with bonus minutes, and plans with 365-day
expiration. Their service is mostly limited
to Voice and Text but does support data use
of their web-capable phones. They offer the
option of having the charges deducted from
your credit card or charge account automatically,
eliminating the need to renew on an exact
expiration date. TracFone offers Free international
calls to about 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.
Pros: Coverage and Local service, available
virtually everywhere in the US, good price
plans with no roaming or long distance charges,
Local numbers in all markets, included Long
Distance calling to 60 countries. Cons: They
have a small selection of phones, no smart phones, coverage is determined by the phone model
(CDMA or GSM) which may limit your roaming
coverage, no roaming outside the US.
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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