North America Plan-Verizon or Alltel?

[elizabeth c]

I live in California and Vancouver, need two lines/phones, basic service. I have never heard of Alltel but the forums seem positive. The plans are similar other than no Mexico at Verizon and no Canada m2m at Alltel. I haven't found info on a two line plan at Alltel. Jay from the international forum preferred Alltel but didn't say why. I can't see a downside to not having a local number if there is no roaming( I don't think Alltel is in California) Anything big I'm missing?Are the phones better at one than the other? I'm leaning toward Verizon only because I'm familiar with the company and there are retail stores in my town.

[BillRadio]

Jay is a good resource. Alltel is preferable in some areas because of their more generous plans. Their coverage is as good as Verizon in their own service area. Their North American plan does include calls made in Canada. Verizon also has a plan that includes Canada, but I don't know the details. Their phones perform equally well. Neither should include M2M in Canada.

You need to determine the number of calls you will be making in Canada, and how much it will cost with each network. If the difference is significant (greater than $40/month), I would follow the best price.

But having local stores, a local number and someone to respond to complaints you might have about coverage in California, I would lean toward Verizon. With Alltel, you will always be roaming, and if you have any coverage or service problems, Alltel may claim they can't help you since you're not using their network. The company line is, "since you're roaming, our hands are tied, your access is controlled by the roaming carrier..."

If you should choose Alltel, ask for a number outside your state (Alltel serves Bishop, CA) as LD landline charges are normally cheaper across state lines. However, agents are not supposed to assign numbers to customer addresses outside of their coverage area, so you might need to come up with a 'fake' address in that town and read and pay bills online.

[UFO]

Originally Posted by BillRadio

But having local stores, a local number and someone to respond to complaints you might have about coverage in California, I would lean toward Verizon. With Alltel, you will always be roaming, and if you have any coverage or service problems, Alltel may claim they can't help you since you're not using their network. The company line is, "since you're roaming, our hands are tied, your access is controlled by the roaming carrier..."

I would agree with Bill said. There's really a lot to be said for local retail stores if you ever have a problem with a phone, a billing error, or if other issues come up because of the roaming.