South Dakota Cellular Reviews
Mountain Wireless presents an opinionated review of wireless and cellular phone services in South Dakota. This is information gained from personal experience, user interviews, press releases, advertising material, newsgroups and wireless web sites.For Ratings of these carriers, Click Here.

ALLTEL
Virtually all of the Alltel network in this state is to be purchased by AT&T. Parts of the Alltel network in other areas will be sold to AT&T, Verizon, and ATN, the parent company of Commnet Wireless, after government approval. There will be a transition period through 2010 during which Alltel customers will be notified of the changes to their account and service. Those Alltel customers who will transfer to Verizon Wireless are already being served by Verizon. For all others, 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 Alltel's and you will eventually be able to use AT&T's entire network and features, including the iPhone. For now, 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. 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.

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, but for most customers, service will improve.
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COMMNET WIRELESS
Commnet has been building cell sites in locations that have been overlooked by other carriers. You can't sign up for service with them...yet. Their parent company, Atlantic Tele-Network recently agreed to purchase the divested Alltel assets from Verizon Wireless, nearly doubling the size of their network. Their current business relies on roaming by other carriers' customers. Some carriers include Commnet in their Roaming Lists, others allow roaming if their phones access Commnet's sites, and some forbid roaming on them. So if the closest, or only, cell site near you is owned by Commnet, you need to find out if you can sign up with a carrier that allows roaming on that Commnet site. They are also known by other names, and their sites offer a different combination of CDMA and GSM technology. Commnet has been searching out areas with little or no coverage and is credited for adding new coverage there. They say, "we can enhance the subscriber experience by providing coverage in unexpected areas, at a cost well below what would be possible for a single retail carrier." In most cases, you'll have no idea you're using a Commnet site, but that may change soon.
Commnet Coverage Maps

NEXTEL
Nextel is a of part Sprint and in some offers, Sprint hides Nextel's features. The combo has allowed the two networks to start sharing cell sites to improve coverage. Nextel's spectrum is made up from a bunch of 2-way radio channels, and they suffer from marginal audio in some markets. Their coverage is more robust in certain areas than others. They cover urban areas and some interstates, but there is little roaming elsewhere in the state. They have an efficient '2-way' radio feature which is handy for a business or a family. Some of their plans aren't very competitive, but they do offer free incoming calls. They use 850 MHz so they have a strong signal in most areas. Sprint has announced they are not improving or expanding the Nextel network. Boost Mobile uses the Nextel network and it a good option for Unlimited Voice and Text. Rumors come up from time to time that Sprint wants to sell off the Nextel network, which may or may not include Nextel customers. Pros: The Direct Connect is a handy 'walkie-talkie' service, robust coverage within their service area. Cons: Some markets have poor audio, they also have coverage limits and very limited roaming, most of their phones are big and lack variety, Nextel does not have fast broadband features, neither the network nor the coverage are being upgraded. Sprint has not treated Nextel customers as well as those using the Sprint network.
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SPRINT WIRELESS
Sprint has a national, feature-rich digital network. Their coverage is a little "fragile", but where it's good, it's very good. You can roam over more territory than any other single carrier. Sprint has a good selection of phones. Their plans include roaming over most of the country, and work about as well as any National plan. They offer an inexpensive "basic" plan for only $30 per month. They also offer a few Unlimited plans with lots of features included. Sprint has added service by taking over parts of some carriers' networks, and "sharing" spectrum with others. Sprint merged with Nextel which has created some beneficial network configurations, including sharing of cell sites. Sprint phones normally prefer the network which, where available, gives Sprint customers the best data throughput. Many Sprint phones have the ability to force the phone to "Roam Only", helping you use the strongest network, however there is a limit to how much roaming you can do, generally 50%. Pros: Sprint gives you good value for your money, but is not necessarily the cheapest. Sprint covers every urban area in the US, maintains local service stores, good roaming capabilities, their digital and data network work very well, good selection of phones. Sprint has excellent roaming agreements, while some other carriers are restricting theirs. Cons: You might find a weak area right where you want coverage, some of their plans are not very competitive, customer service is a notch below average.
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UNICEL
Unicel in this area has been sold to Verizon Wireless.

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 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 one 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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