CENTRAL U.S. -- Best phone service for Troy, Michigan area?

[hudson2001]

We are moving from North Carolina to Michigan and think we might be giving up Alltel.

We love Alltel, and do get service up in Michigan, but it doesn't seem to be a "local" business, as the closest storefront is 50 miles away (here locally, in our small town, there are like 5+ locations). I know we don't necessarily need a local storefront, but have been spoiled by having local branches for the few times we've needed one.

That said, we stopped at Alltel last night and were told that NC is a state that will not cancel accounts for military orders - they can just delay them (i.e. when hubby went to Iraq last year, we put his account on hold and I didn't have to pay for it until he got back)...so that stinks. Especially since we just renewed our contract when we got new phones in June. Had we known we would be moving, we would have gone with someone else because...

You know what stinks more? And what I totally don't understand? Alltel told us that area (Troy) would be Roaming, which is 40c/minute. EVEN THOUGH THAT AREA SHOWS AS BEING A COVERED AREA FOR ALLTEL.

I have checked a few cell service sites and the ratings are all over the board for what service is like for different carriers. We use our cells as our home phone, and will have a new baby, so it's critical for our cells to have good service at our house. We did check T-Mobile's street-level coverage maps and it claims our new house will have 5-bars... but that's all I've seen so far.

So, any advice for the Troy area? Or for Roaming on Alltel? (I swear the Roaming was blinking when we were there, which I take to mean is free roaming, but hubby swears he saw a steady Roaming as well, which would be the 40c/minute. But of course the Alltel reps said it was ALL roaming...so who knows.)

[Alienware_51]

Originally Posted by hudson2001

We are moving from North Carolina to Michigan and think we might be giving up Alltel.

We love Alltel, and do get service up in Michigan, but it doesn't seem to be a "local" business, as the closest storefront is 50 miles away (here locally, in our small town, there are like 5+ locations). I know we don't necessarily need a local storefront, but have been spoiled by having local branches for the few times we've needed one.

That said, we stopped at Alltel last night and were told that NC is a state that will not cancel accounts for military orders - they can just delay them (i.e. when hubby went to Iraq last year, we put his account on hold and I didn't have to pay for it until he got back)...so that stinks. Especially since we just renewed our contract when we got new phones in June. Had we known we would be moving, we would have gone with someone else because...

You know what stinks more? And what I totally don't understand? Alltel told us that area (Troy) would be Roaming, which is 40c/minute. EVEN THOUGH THAT AREA SHOWS AS BEING A COVERED AREA FOR ALLTEL.

I have checked a few cell service sites and the ratings are all over the board for what service is like for different carriers. We use our cells as our home phone, and will have a new baby, so it's critical for our cells to have good service at our house. We did check T-Mobile's street-level coverage maps and it claims our new house will have 5-bars... but that's all I've seen so far.

So, any advice for the Troy area? Or for Roaming on Alltel? (I swear the Roaming was blinking when we were there, which I take to mean is free roaming, but hubby swears he saw a steady Roaming as well, which would be the 40c/minute. But of course the Alltel reps said it was ALL roaming...so who knows.)

Hi hudson2001,

I don't know what the reps were talking about. Troy, Michigan should not be "solid" roaming. You will roam off of Verizon Wireless for free. Also keep in mind that Verizon Wireless is trying to merge with Alltel, so by next year there might not be Alltel (you will still be on Alltel until your current contract expires).

I live in northern Michigan, and I haven't been down to Troy in a long time, but I would check out T-Mobile, at&t, and maybe Sprint.

[cellular_freak]

Well they were right: Alltel does not provide service in the metro Detroit area. You would be roaming onto Sprint or Verizon. So, anytime you have a problem with the network, Alltel can do nothing for you. So that is why there are no stores by Troy, because Troy is not serviced by Alltel.

Your best bet is to switch to Verizon or Sprint if you want to have similar quality of service that you have with Alltel now. Since Verizon and Sprint are both CDMA carriers, you won't notice much of a difference. I mean, you could go with AT&T or T-Mobile, but if you ever venture out from the city, your coverage will vastly decrease. GSM is Michigan is much better in urban areas and not in rural areas. Therefore, I would just simply advise you to switch to Verizon or Sprint. Alltel only exists in Northern Michigan and Western Michigan.

[strunke]

Just keep Alltel. You will not be charged for roaming. No point in paying more for less service with sprint, verizon, or att. You will free roam off sprint and verizon. The only CDMA carriers your phone will pick up in troy. Don't worry about roaming chargers. There is no way to get roaming charges with alltel in michigan. So your hubby may have been seeing things. But don't tell him that. :-).

Here is the "NATIVE" coverage (where alltel has towers). The white areas are serviced by Sprint, Verizon, and Thumb Cellular. All of which are completely free to oam on with a national freedom plan or total freedom plan. There are a few "local" carriers like Metro PCS, Cricket (i think). But your phone has their SID neg'd in the PRL file. So your phone will not go on those unless you dial 911.

[hudson2001]

Thank you SO much. It looks like we will be keeping Alltel.

[strunke]

Wirelessly posted (MOT-VEGAS/00.72 UP.Browser/7.2.6.1.797 (GUI) MMP/2.0)

Originally Posted by hudson2001

Thank you SO much. It looks like we will be keeping Alltel.

No Problem, let us know if you have any trouble with signal while free roaming there are a couple of programing tips we know here. Once the purchase of alltel goes through by verizon, which will likely be a while though, you will be able to go to the nearest vzw store. Good luck!

[music4praise]

I have Alltel and visit Troy, MI several times a year. It is free roaming on Sprint or Verizon. Both work very well. I also suggest you keep your Alltel service.

Pay very close attention to the Verizon/Alltel merger, however. If your number is in an area that gets transitioned to Verizon, you will be able to eventually get a Troy number from Verizon. On the other hand, if you currently live in an area of NC that gets divested to another carrier, you will have to get your number changed to an area not being divested in order to make a smooth transition from Alltel to Verizon. Don't worry about it yet. Just keep it in the back of your mind.

[djjim]

Originally Posted by music4praise

I have Alltel and visit Troy, MI several times a year. It is free roaming on Sprint or Verizon. Both work very well. I also suggest you keep your Alltel service.

Pay very close attention to the Verizon/Alltel merger, however. If your number is in an area that gets transitioned to Verizon, you will be able to eventually get a Troy number from Verizon. On the other hand, if you currently live in an area of NC that gets divested to another carrier, you will have to get your number changed to an area not being divested in order to make a smooth transition from Alltel to Verizon. Don't worry about it yet. Just keep it in the back of your mind.

I am betting that they live in an area of NC where Verizon has a pcs system and won't have to divest the alltel nework. Most military bases in NC are in the eastern side of the state where alltel and uscc have the cellular bands and verizon has a skimpy newly built pcs system. Soooo, by this time next year, or earlier, chances are you will be a verizon cutomer and you will be able to get a new, local number in troy. Just stick it out, don't cancel.