Alltel vs. Verizon in AZ

[Shoo]

On the endless search to find a better cell phone company than Sprint, I have found the least negative things said about Alltel and Verizon. But can't find an opinion on choosing one of these over the other. I travel a lot and not just to big cities and care about free roaming and long distance. Any suggestions?[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

[larry]

What do you have against Sprint? Their coverage in AZ has expanded to include even remote areas like Sierra Vista, Bisbee, Lake Havasu, Flagstaff, Williams, Kingman, and Parker. I doubt others like AT&T, VoiceStream, or Qwest could match their coverage in AZ.

[azcellphonejunkie]

I'm going to have to agree with larry on this one. I have been with Sprint in AZ since the fall of 1998 and have seen drastic improvements in thier service. I think that they are one of the leaders in this area and have had few problems with them. As far as Alltel vs. Verizon, very close but I would choose VZ...

[BillRadio]

Shoo,
It all depends on where you live and where you go. Alltel and VZ are almost tied. The differences are in where one has strong points. VZ is poor north of I-40, where Alltel has some service there including Grand Canyon, but both have a site at Page.

Alltel will be roaming west of Phoenix, Verizon is local and digital. On I-40 west of Flag, Alltel is roaming, Verizon is local, but analog. Both are roaming in Mohave County.

As far as other carriers, Sprint is the next best but has dead spots along I-17, but fewer than any other other. Then comes Nextel, V-Stream, Qwest, AT&T, and last, Cricket. This is based on their performance outside of Phoenix, they all serve the town, well.

If you live in AZ, unless you have a specific place you need to use your phone, like north of Flag, choose between Alltel and VZ by price. They offer exactly the same "Network" and national plans, that use Sprint as a roaming partner, and many of the same phones. Visit both of their stores and see which one will bend over backwards to get your business.

See these pages for more Arizona info:

AZ Carrier Reviews

AZ Carrier Ratings

-Bill radio

[Shoo]

Thanks very much. That is helpful abotu Verizon and Alltel. I thought that they were very similiar. I travel all over the Ariona area by car and into California and CO, NM. I also travel to east coast to DC and NY. The other big decision for service is that I need a travelling plan but my husband stays here mostly. We thought about a shared plan, but they don't seem to have the National Coverage and shared unless I am not seeing it right. We both care about the free long distance too because that is what we use it mostly for. Nights and weekends aren't a big thing for us as we use it mostly during day.

As for the comments about Sprint, what do I have against Sprint? Where do I even begin. I have been with them four four years and have not been happy ever. Same goes for my sister, her husband, at least three of my friends and my parents. We all get dropped all the time. We all travel in different parts of the Valley so we aren't all experiencing probems in the same area. We all have different phones also, and that doesn't seems to make much difference. Also, none of our phone our the cheap give away ones. My service has gotten so bad I can't use it at my home, in between home and work or at work without broken choppy calls. My husband spends all day at his work saying Hello? Hello?

We all hate the Sprint store on Tatum in PHX also. They have the worst attitude and customer service I have ever dealt with. We all think they are @#$@#$.

Also for voice mail, sometimes we didn't get voice mails for days or notification that we have one.

As for coverage, I travel with a friend all over Arizona camping and stuff, in remote areas and she has Qwest and seems to have service everywhere while I don't. I also have travelled my route to and from work and at my home with an ATT and a Verizon phone and they didn't seem to have a break in service in those areas.

[PCSfreak]

Hi Shoo. I guess what I'm kind of confused about is why, if you have never been happy with Sprint PCS, have you stayed a customer for 4 years? Indeed, giving you the benefit of the doubt, I can understand you could have signed onto a 2-year or maybe even a 3-year?contract and did not wish to pay the termination fees. In all that time you are unhappy with your service and yet you don't cancel? You stayed on for one or two more years? To top it off, assuming you were the first in your family to use Sprint (that would have been in 1998), you watch as several other members of your family sign up. I personally have traveled all over Phoenix and believe it to be well covered. In addition, if you are taking I-10, I don't know where your dead spots are. Your drives to Colorodo, though, and New Mexico probably aren't covered that well, so Sprint was probably never the best choice for you. It's hard to believe, though, that your friend on Qwest has coverage everywhere you two go when you don't. Okay, maybe so. But, I hope you can see that your problem with Sprint is partially yours for not cancelling earlier and watching as all your sister and parents signed on and let their 2-week trial periods end. You are right, though, about Sprint store employees. While I think Sprint's customer service has drastically improved, the Sprint store people seem to need better training often (like anything, though, it depends who you talk to).

Between Alltel and Verizon, you might want to get a family share plan by Verizon. They have a family share with their "America's Choice" plans that seem to be a pretty good deal and, as Bill said, they have a great choice of phones. They also own analog backup for your trips to Colorodo and New Mexico. Good Luck.

[Apoc]

Soon VZW will have all the old Dobson purchase up and runing so that will be a good swing on there behalf not to sure about SPCS!!

[larry]

PCS freak,

You raise a good point. Why stay with Sprint for 4 years if you are so unhappy and get your family members to sign up? Keep in mind that Sprint didn't even have contracts until late 1999. Prior to that everything was month to month so that means they could have cancelled anytime during the first year or so. I doubt that anyone would sign a 3 year contract and probably not even a 2.

Personally I have been out to Phoenix and many other parts of AZ in the past two years and have had nothing but good results with my Sprint phones. Their coverage is much better than Qwest overall in AZ. I can name many parts of the state where Qwest doesn't have service but Sprint does. I also think a few of the regulars here like Rich, and Bill from Mountain wireless would agree that Sprint is very good in AZ.

[Shoo]

Hmm. A lot of assumpotions in those respones. We all signed on at the same time as a matter of fact and it was through a corporate account and I am not writing to complain about Sprint. I never see the need to go on endlessly about what is in the past. What I was writing about was to ask about Verizon vs Alltel until someone asked why I wanted to leave Sprint, so I told them.

I have no intention of looking back at why I stayed. That isn't my point here. For the truth of the matter I never had time to bother with it until now and it has become gradually a worse problem for all of us, my needs have chnaged and I had my final moment with them when I went to their store a few weeks ago and was treated so rudely, for the I don't know how manieth time. When I nicely say this may be a dumb questions, but could this phoen possible be repaired, and the repsonse I receive is ask "We don't repair phones here but maybe you can find someone to," and he goes in in his merry world, why should I stay.

Now I need a new phone agian and I am gone. And if we are being sooo literal, yes she doesn't have coverage everywhere, no one does, but nine times out of ten she does and I don't. I usually give her # as the emergency number to call from the Rim to Page to the middle of Lake Powell (in AZ) as she has a signal. If that has changed recently in those areas, I can't compare. All I know are my experiences and they have been bad. And my area in PHX isn't rural. I am right in the middle of North Scottsdale/PHX and I don't have service where I go most of the time which is home and to and from work.

And as for agreeing about Sprint's coverage, according to Bill's site link for AZ carrier ratings, they are rated pretty bad for AZ. And at letstalk, there are endless pages of stuff posted about how bad Sprint is. The least bad stuff is posted about Alltel and Verizon.

[RH]

Shoo,

I live in your area and have used Alltel and Verizon and ATT. I have had the best luck with Verizon around Arizona Phx/Scottsdale and rural parts of AZ I would put them 1st Alltel 2nd long hold times for cs and few coverage issues even in town (Verizon seems to be adding more towers lately than Alltel) and then ATT pretty good coverage in Phoenix area but once you goto most of the places you listed like to the Rim you will be analog roaming on Verizon. As far as phones get the Motorola Startac 7868 with Verizon it seems to hold the signal the best. There is a Verizon store up by Paradise Valley Mall. Just my opinion your mileage may vary[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

RH

[larry]

<< And as for agreeing about Sprint's coverage, according to Bill's site link for AZ carrier ratings, they are rated pretty bad for AZ. >>



I think when it comes to wireless in AZ and the West, Bill probably knows better than anyone but if you read his most recent post here on this thread he has Sprint rated ahead of Nextel, V-Stream, Qwest, AT&T, and Cricket. I wouldn't say that's giving them a bad rating. Sounds like he's giving Qwest, AT&T and Cricket the bad ratings. Maybe the link on his web site for AZ is a little outdated or something because of all the recent improvements Sprint has made in AZ.

Another regular on this site from Arizona, (Rich) has often given Sprint good ratings as well. But of course everyone has their own opinion. I will agree with you on the Sprint stores needing better trained employees. I can out knowledge them on just about any issue and I don't even work for Sprint.

[roamer1]

I've been to Phoenix and know people who live there and have lived there (including someone who worked for CellOne Phx before ALLTEL bought them from BAM) so I'll add my two cents.

Grand Canyon -- The ONLY coverage there is ALLTEL; Verizon ARIZONA customers canNOT roam on ALLTEL in that area (other Verizon customers can [my Atlanta-based phone has roamed there fine], but it might require changing from B-side to A-side depending on your home area.)

ALLTEL -- very good, but has been reported to have billing and customer service issues.

Verizon -- excellent, but read Grand Canyon notes above.

AT&T -- Generally Phx is considered one of their worst markets -- not nearly as bad as Atlanta (by far their worst), but definitely bad.

VS -- VS is fine in town and on I-10, but like VS everywhere else and Nextel, is a very, very poor choice for rural coverage.

Cricket -- If they have the same problems in Phx they have in their flagship market (Chattanooga, TN) you DON'T want them even if their tiny coverage area is all you need.

-SC

[larry]

Not true about the Grand Canyon. Sprint and I think Qwest both have coverage there now.

[Shoo]

Thanks RH and Roamer1. Those were the answers I was looking for. That helps a lot! Thanks for the tip on the phone too! Sounds like Verizon is my best choice[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

[Jack]

consider alltel

Jack

[ComicalMoodyDan]

ALLTEL does treat there customers well my grandmother has been a customer of them for many years even before they became ALLTEL around here and she gets a $10 monthly discount on her plan for being a long time standing customer. Also when they launched there Digital service here about 1.5-2 years ago it was I believe they sent her a letter in the mail stating that if she renewed her contract over the phone for one year she would get a free StarTAC 7860W which at the time went for well over $100 I believe with a one year contract.

[Shoo]

TNDAN 21,

That is pretty nice. You are the one that lives in Tennessee, right? I'm from Oak Ridge then theTri-Cities area, and also UT at Knoxville. But now in AZ.

Thanks for the help. Right now my may concerns for service are customer service and wider coverage area. Sounds like Alltel and Verizon are my good choices. I don't use customer service very often but at least want it there when I need it.

[ComicalMoodyDan]

How funny I am from Kingsport, TN which is part of the Tri-Cities TN/VA area.

[ComicalMoodyDan]

By the way Shoo, Verizon does have one thing over ALLTEL. Verizon gives you 15 days to try out there service and if you don't like it simply cancel within that time frame and you can get out of your contract and get your money back. Verizon calls this there "Best Network Challege" ALLTEL as far as I know doesn't give you any period of time to get out of your contract.


ALLTEL


Verizon Wireless

[Shoo]

TNDAN21,

That is a good thing too. It seems that Verizon is more recommended out west. I'm going to the store today, however I have to say I don't like the phone choices as much.


As for Tri-Cities, lived in Bristol for a while and had friends in Johnson City.

[ComicalMoodyDan]

Cool, I have friends in Johnson City also. I know that is one bad thing about both Verizon and ALLTEL they both have a limited selection of phones, especially ALLTEL they really need to get some new and more stylish ones in. You might want to try out Verizon first, give it a 10 day trial run or so and if you like it keep it if not return it back and get out of your contract and then maybe give ALLTEL a try. Let us know how Verizon works for you [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]


Wouldn't it be funny if we knew some of the same people in JC? LOL

[Shoo]

TNDan21,

Thanks. I will. Small world isn't it?[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

[ComicalMoodyDan]

hehe yeah it is [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

[Jack]

Alltel is 10 days

Jack

[ComicalMoodyDan]

Really? I didn't even know ALLTEL had a trial period, its good that they do though. Can anybody else confirm this?

[catprotector]

Don't bet on it. I currently have had nothing but problems with Alltel. I have had dropped calls, high cell bills which when you complain to Alltel they ignore you. Their customer service also is lousy. If I had known I would have had know I'd have so many problems with Alltel I never would have gone with them.

[catprotector]

I have no clue how that site at mountainwireless.com can honestly say Alltel has good customer service. The customer service there is terrible! I have had billing issues, dropped calls and even lost voice mails. When I complain Alltel has done nothing but ignore the issue or give me the runaround. When my contract ends I may be looking for a new carrier. Alltel sucks!