Alltel VS AT&T

[shaffer33]

I currently have cellular one who was bought out at&t and i am wondering if i should stay with them or try alltel. If anyone has any pros or cons either way let me know.

[royc]

Where will you be using the phone? Alltel generally has good coverage compared to Dobson Cell One. If you tell us where you're at we can give you more specific answers.

royc

[RadioFoneGuy]

Let me know what areas you use the phone the most and I can tell you where the closest towers are.

Some area ATT (cell one) has better coverage and some areas Alltel is better.

ATT has a wider selection of phones but is in the process of upgrading its network to the next technolgy UMTS or 3G

Alltel has already upgraded its 2G to be 3G capable.

The difference between 2G and 3G is basically improved data speeds and the tower will allow more calls.

Currently in former Cell One areas the Data speeds are limited to approx 300 kbs or 6 times that of dial up internet.

Alltel can average 600 Kbs to over 1 meg or basically the equivalent of a DSL line.

With in the next year ATT will have most of its towers upgraded to the newer stuff.

It just depends on what you need. You can keep your Cell ONe plan if you like the price but you wont be able to get a new phone unless you buy one outright.

Alltel has some pretty impressive monthly plans.

You kinda have to weight the pros and cons of both.

Good luck.

[shaffer33]

Well i live around the youngstown area and dont travel very much. the problem with att is that i cant keep my same plan because i have the unlimited plan which att doesnt offer. however alltel has the my circle plan. and i use about 2200 minutes a month plus i have a smart phone. has anyone had any problems with either carrier?

[strunke]

Originally Posted by shaffer33

Well i live around the youngstown area and dont travel very much. the problem with att is that i cant keep my same plan because i have the unlimited plan which att doesnt offer. however alltel has the my circle plan. and i use about 2200 minutes a month plus i have a smart phone. has anyone had any problems with either carrier?

Depends on how much you use your phone as anytime minutes. But if they aren't going to let you keep your plan I would try Alltel and My Circle. At&t plans stink when there is a cheaper alternative with just as good or better coverage and cheaper prices. I doubt coverage will be an issue. CS is good, The EVDO is great where it's available (most everywhere now). Their smartphones right now are the HTC 6800, the htc touch (cooler, but not as advanced as the previous), Moto Q (older smartphone, would avoid it for now), Pretty much all the Blackberries are nice, and the Palms are good if you are into that. I don't really like them, not as good RF as many phones, and they are more expensive. Keep in mind unless you buy retail or eBay, the smartphones require a smartchoice plan when you are comparing.

[Eric47]

if you travel alot, id sway more towards ATT

no roaming charges, and 70+ million subscribers to call free. you can never go wrong with that.

honestly if you know how cell one has been for you, ATT is gonna be that or better. With Alltel your going to something unfamiliar, you may end up unhappy and upset and stuck in a 2year with someone you dont want.

[NFrabbit]

Originally Posted by shaffer33

Well i live around the youngstown area and dont travel very much. the problem with att is that i cant keep my same plan because i have the unlimited plan which att doesnt offer. however alltel has the my circle plan. and i use about 2200 minutes a month plus i have a smart phone. has anyone had any problems with either carrier?

I live in Newton Falls so that may be near you. I have AT&T and have been very satisfied with the coverage around here. Most of my experience though is Newton Falls, Warren, Niles (the mall).

Alltel does have a great reputation in this area. The few people I know who have it seem satisfied.

So you say AT&T won't let you keep the CellularOne unlimited plan? I was wondering what they were going to do about that. Are you under contract, have you tried pressing them on it?

[KyleAndMelissa22]

Originally Posted by EricN4707

if you travel alot, id sway more towards ATT

I still say to go with Alltel if they are available in your area.
There is more CDMA in this country (Alltel, Verizon, Sprint, US Cellular and many others)
and Alltel's nationwide free roaming on those carriers is alot more that just AT&T & T-Mobile.

Originally Posted by EricN4707

no roaming charges, and 70+ million subscribers to call free. you can never go wrong with that.

The My Circle deal is too sweet, you will be happy with Alltel,
They'll give you 15 days to try them out, so it is definitely worth it.
And My Circle works while you roam, nationwide, can't beat that.

Originally Posted by EricN4707

honestly if you know how cell one has been for you, ATT is gonna be that or better. With Alltel your going to something unfamiliar, you may end up unhappy and upset and stuck in a 2year with someone you dont want.

I reside right behind a tall AT&T tower, I would still not switch to AT&T,
because GSM coverage isn't as good in most rural areas here in the Carolinas.

I even forget that I'm under contract with Alltel until September '08, because the service is just that good.

Also, Alltel gives you My Circle "Bonus Numbers," after your 2-year contract is up.
10 will becaome 11, or 20 will become 21 free numbers, this is a great incentive to go and stay with Alltel,
They are very loyal to their customers.

Its what really works where you spend the most of your time,
I reccomend Alltel for their My Circle & free nationwide roaming that works with the Circle as well.

[Eric47]

well we all have our own preferences.

i prefer a large native coverage and a company with no roaming charges and a True 3G.

so we all like what works for us.

if ATT was taken over tommorow by someone else i would goto that also, because i know the service works everywhere i need it to and no company could reassure me enough that i would like their service or their products.

thats why i hesistate to tell people to jump ship to different companys...most of the time, people eventually go back full circle.

[RadioFoneGuy]

You can keep the Cell One unlimited $49 dollars plan but you will either have to keep your existing phone or buy phones outright.

The only benefit of switching your plan to AT&T would be to get a new phone for not much money but at&t plans are higher.

I have 4 Cell One unlimited plans and I have bought my phones out right.

Alltel is a great company and they have some of the best plans but if your happy with the Cell One coverage its better now you can use both the old Cell One towers and at&t.

In my opinion bang for the buck I would hang on to the ulimited plan until they force you out of it.

[UFO]

Originally Posted by shaffer33

Well i live around the youngstown area and dont travel very much. the problem with att is that i cant keep my same plan because i have the unlimited plan which att doesnt offer. however alltel has the my circle plan. and i use about 2200 minutes a month plus i have a smart phone. has anyone had any problems with either carrier?

With alltel's plans, depending on your exact calling habits you'd probably only have to pay for the 500 or 1200 min smart choice pack plan with alltel with a smartphone. With that plan you'd also get nights at 7 and unlimited messaging. I've never been there personally but it seems like I've heard several other posters mention alltel has good coverage in the Youngstown area.

So, the way I would look at it is that depending on the plans you're looking at, alltel should be a little less expensive and give you more in a plan. The phone selection for the providers is different but probably acceptable options for both depending on your taste. Coverage for both it sounds like is fine in your area. You know all about how at&t is in your area, Alltel generally builds coverage-solid networks and their customers also roam for free on Verizon and Sprint if you ever need it. Alltel also has a very expansive EVDO/3G network throughout NE Ohio, and here is the Ohio map: Alltel MobileLink Coverage

So rather than paying retail price for a phone and trying to hold onto your plan (if they'd even allow you to do that), which CellONE did have some very nice plans. It seems to make sense for me to take alltel up on their 15 day trial period because to me, it seems like the better deal that meets your needs.

[strunke]

Basically it comes down to whether you can keep your unlimited plan. And how important getting the new and latest phones and whether you can afford to buy the phone outright. I wouldn't change to the Att plans for anything when you have Cellone unlimited as an option still or My circle and alltel's plans.

[Eric47]

i think its relative to that person.

so for instance, me personally. Alltel, even with my circle is not worth it..why? well i talk to at least 10 different people everyday, not the same people everyday. most often, my friends have ATT or Verizon.

So what does that mean for me? The best choices for me are those 2 companies, and really and truely those are the only 2 companies that i feel im getting good service and getting what i pay for.

its not so much how much your paying all the time, but the value of what your paying.

Honestly, i really would like to know what your decision is. i think everyone here would like to hear a great story about you keeping your plan unlimited plan on the largest digital network, if anything its ATT's lose and your gain by a long shot, something no one else can offer you.

i hope it works out for you .

e.

[Dogma]

Originally Posted by EricN4707

well we all have our own preferences.

i prefer a large native coverage and a company with no roaming charges and a True 3G.

so we all like what works for us.

if ATT was taken over tommorow by someone else i would goto that also, because i know the service works everywhere i need it to and no company could reassure me enough that i would like their service or their products.

thats why i hesistate to tell people to jump ship to different companys...most of the time, people eventually go back full circle.

If you're comparing large native coverage, then Alltel is the obvious choice as it covers more square feet of dirt than any US carrier.

If you purchase an Alltel national plan, you pay no roaming charges just like any other carriers. AT&T happens to roam on Alltel's GSM network in parts of the country they don't have coverage, which is mainly more rural America.

[strunke]

Originally Posted by Dogma

If you're comparing large native coverage, then Alltel is the obvious choice as it covers more square feet of dirt than any US carrier.

If you purchase an Alltel national plan, you pay no roaming charges just like any other carriers. AT&T happens to roam on Alltel's GSM network in parts of the country they don't have coverage, which is mainly more rural America.

I believe At&t includes it's digital land line services in that figure. Or maybe number of towers at best. GSM can't handle quite as many calls so they will put more towers to cover the same area then alltel, sprint or verizon has to. But it's over the same area so it doesn't actually cover more like Alltel's claim.

[RadioFoneGuy]

You can hold as many calls on a GSM tower as CDMA but GSM carriers do run more to off set the load because GSM doesnt use the benefit of CDMA soft handoff.

Both statements are true about coverage for ATT and Alltel but both have its up and downs.

ATT has more towers and covers the top 200 US markets and used to only focus on Metro environments and highways until they bought Dobson.

Alltel does have the largest network in the US but alot of that was due to the purchase of Western Wireless who had a ton of licenses for areas no one else wanted to build out in. There are towers there but in my opinion in those areas the towers are to far apart.

Both are great companies both have their pros and cons.

One thing I agree with is bar none no doubt Alltel plans are pretty much the best bang for the buck if you are look for new service.

I like both companies but if it was me I would keep the $49 dollar unlimited plan as long as possible and keep threating to leave it they try to take it away. I know people that still have ATT wireless plans and that was over 3 years ago. You will be out of contract so you can leave at anytime. The only drawback is you have to buy phones outright but you dont have a 2 year plan your stuck in.

Good luck what ever you choose.

[Eric47]

yep..good point...ive seen people with Unlimited calling Family Plans that they kept from the ATT Wireless Days, lets not forget that was well over a year ago.

[RadioFoneGuy]

AT&T wireless was over 3 years ago.

I was looking into the different carriers plans and the 39.99 plans are pretty comparable.

It looks like Alltel does take the lead once you get up into the My circle plans in the 49 dollars range.

[RadioFoneGuy]

AT&T wireless was over 3 years ago.

I was looking into the different carriers plans and the 39.99 plans are pretty comparable.

It looks like Alltel does take the lead once you get up into the My circle plans in the 49 dollars range.

But rate plans are my speciality.

[Eric47]

Alltel's name and badging needs a face lift. i dont think its attracting the young consumers. but i do think they have some cool stuff, particularly for people that do alot of calling to just a few people, for a business person calling many people, its no more practical than any other carrier.

[Dogma]

I'm willing to bet that you'll find the "cooler" phones with AT&T and the better network with Alltel. That is to say the Alltel network will usually be more sound where the two companies coverage overlaps. At least that has been my experience in areas I've lived with both companies providing service.

[RadioFoneGuy]

Every market is different, and even in the same market different area are different.

In my area in alot of places ATT has 3 times the towers of Alltel and this is due to buying out a PCS company that had 3 PCS tower to every 21 850 Alltel and Cellular ONe tower. After Cell One picked up these sites if converted a bunch to 850 so it made some great coverage areas.
But on the other hand if you drive 1 hour down the road where there is 1 PCS tower to Alltel 1 850 tower Alltel blows ATT out of the water.

At&t used to have the upper hand on the cool devices but Alltel and the other carriers have been catching up.

[RJB]

Originally Posted by RadioFoneGuy

Every market is different, and even in the same market different area are different.

In my area in alot of places ATT has 3 times the towers of Alltel and this is due to buying out a PCS company that had 3 PCS tower to every 21 850 Alltel and Cellular ONe tower. After Cell One picked up these sites if converted a bunch to 850 so it made some great coverage areas.
But on the other hand if you drive 1 hour down the road where there is 1 PCS tower to Alltel 1 850 tower Alltel blows ATT out of the water.

At&t used to have the upper hand on the cool devices but Alltel and the other carriers have been catching up.

I would still att has better phones imo.

[RadioFoneGuy]

I still think ATT has the EDGE as well but the other carriers are getting better.

[strunke]

Originally Posted by RadioFoneGuy

I still think ATT has the EDGE as well but the other carriers are getting better.

Hahahaa....nice spin on words.....

Yeah overall GSM companies have the world market to thank for the latest and greatest phones. So overall At&t would be better. But Alltel is improving. And for almost every need they have a good phone available. It's the techies that want the new latest phone every 6 months or so that will have the problems....

[RadioFoneGuy]

Good news for Alltel customers, alltel is finally starting to put up towers again.

I played with a friends Alltel Blackberry for awhile and they left the UI alone and the apps were easy to navigate. I think Alltel still has bugs in their EVDO up north, the BB would be fine then slower than my GPRS BB (i need to upgrade) Even out in the country the EVDO wasnt reliable but when it worked it was sweet.

I talked to an Alltel at one of their new sites and he said they were having some sporatic EVDO issue at the GR switch.

Im pro GSM but if I ever changed sides Id go Alltel. Verizon is getting better handsets but their UI destroys it for me.

[ta206]

Being south of Youngstown in very rural areas AT&T has NO coverage in many of the areas I travel. Friends generally end up using my Alltel phone.

I am not slamming one carrier or another ~ just saying to test it before you buy it. I had our guys carry phones from all the carriers and ended up with the company that had consistant coverage where we worked. Afterall if you don't have coverage why care about how hot your phone is?

[RadioFoneGuy]

Good point, I always tell people to use what works.

I looked at both ATT and CellOne coverage maps and OHIO looks pretty well blanketed with towers. That doesnt mean they will have coverage where everyone needs it .