Alltel completes purchase of First Cellular of Southern Illinois Click here to enlarge map. Monday, May 1, 2006 Alltel today announced that it has completed its purchase of First Cellular of Southern Illinois, a locally owned wireless provider based in Mt. Vernon, Ill. Alltel announced plans to purchase First Cellular in February. First Cellular covers a population of 485,000 in 24 Illinois counties and its network includes major transportation corridors connecting population centers in St. Louis, Chicago, Indianapolis and Evansville, Ind., and Louisville, Ky. With this all-cash transaction, Alltel adds wireless operations that complement its growing presence in the Midwest.
Yeah...I posted awhile back about this & wanting some info. I hope their customer service is better than First Cellulars. Cranky, indifferent, hard to get ahold of on the phone. Will Alltel change this as well?
I think you will like Alltel customer service. They have held my hand in a few problems over the years.
First Cellular is not bad. Does anyone know what the purchase price was? I can't seem to find an amount on the FCC, FTC, or any other site.
I don't know what the purchase price was... I live in SC, and I can't find any specifics at all on what markets specifically Alltel purchased in March here in SC and Western NC from Palmetto wireless.... anyone have any clue?
... And if you can't get someone nice on the phone (every company has duds) you've got the advantage of being able to solicit help in this forum (since some of the members are obviously Alltel employees...)
I'm wondering if Alltel is going to keep the current (First Cellular) employees. I'm sure they will, though...just hoping that some of the ones that are indifferent to customers needs will go. It seems that they (First Cellular) are pleasant when trying to sign someone up, but after that, they could care less. If it wasn't for my wife just signing a 2 yr. contract with them (which Alltel might void), i'd go with VZW. I've never had a problem with their customer service & I can call their customer service any time day or night. With First Cellular, after 6pm an operator answers & takes messages. They can't (or won't) answer any questions about problems, etc.
you'll be routed to the alltel call centers (if you aren't already, then you will be soon).. when I was in customer service it was 7a-10p M-F and 8a-9p Sat, closed Sun.. I have heard that CS will be open on Sunday in the near future, though.. tech sppt is 24/7/365..
The calls go to an after-hours service that reports urgent issues to the on-call representative. The person who actually answers the phone is not a FC employee. I really would like to know the selling price, only for my own nosiness. I'm sure it had to be reported to the FCC, SEC, FTC, or someone. Personally I hope Alltel keeps us as well. Nothing's confirmed nor denied, but the office is tense.
Sounds like your in the same boat as Midwest Wireless employees, as I happen to know a couple. They have been on the bubble a few months longer and are still waiting to see if they will be employed once the merger is complete. I know the "not knowing" is the worst part.
First Cellular is starting to sell the 815 & the CDMA version of the Raz now. I went in to pay my bill today & asked what the difference was & was told mine's GSM & the one they now have is CDMA. I asked if it would get better reception than the one I now have & was told it wouldn't. I then told them that the one I have likes to drop calls on a certain stretch of road I travel. She told me she didn't have any problems with her GSM, but she's never traveled that particular stretch of road. I borrowed a friends Razr once & it didn't drop a call all the way down that stretch of road & i'm pretty sure that they're working off the same towers. I'm hoping that when Alltel takes over their customer service/tech support will actually try to help...if not, i'm hoping they'll me & my wife out of our contract since they'll probably not want me having a GSM phone & her having an unlimited minutes plan. I'll gladly pay the difference in price plans to have good customer service & fewer dropped calls.
Right now, CDMA network is being built out. GSM will remain on until the network is changed out. Right now, data will not work on the CDMA phones. only text and voice. Once CDMA is fully up (August) all the features will work on CDMA and GSM will begin to be decomissioned. We will give you a voucher for an equvilant type of phone that is CDMA if your exsisting phone is less than 12 months old. If it is more, you can upgrade. If you are under contract, you may only cancel the contract by paying the ETF. Until August, I would keep your GSM phone. Also after August, if you are having trouble in the same area after the network is built out, call tech support so we can see if there is anything in that area we can do. It could be a radio frequency or somthing causing the issue, which we have no control, or a weak area that does not have demand for a tower. It could also be something we can correct but it would have to be after August before we can look into anything since GSM will be coming down.
Yes it is, and from what I hear it should be completed shortly. It sounds like the overlap coverage in MN is being put into a trust company until a buyer for the "A" side (CellOne) network is found.
