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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.


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.

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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.


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.

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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.

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