I already have alltel but i was wondering what everyone else thought about them? Share some stories, good or bad!
As your username implies, they all have flaws. And in my opinion, Alltel does have flaws, but is the easy choice for a provider in my situation. As for the flaws, there are a few things that could be improved. I hate the roaming indicator ... I just want to see it when I'm in a payable roam, especially not when I'm still on Alltel but outside of my home area. And really, still the fact that Alltel even charges for roaming anymore, even though it's only in very rural, remote areas, it seems a little behind the times. Nothing, IMO, is a bigger reason for churn than having a customer get whacked with roaming charges on thier vacation that they don't understand because that triangle was 'on' the whole time. But if you understand the quirks, I really don't believe there's a better choice for wireless service. Alltel is usually in the Cellular band, and is rarely ever outdone in coverage... though I could name a few places, it is generally very solid. I use to have Verizon, and overall, I would rate Alltel as covering their areas much better, at least in the areas I travel throughout Virginia, NE Tennessee, and the Carolinas. The phones aren't crippled or locked like other providers. And the plans are very good in comparison to others, especially with how My Circle has been integrated. There is bar none no better family plan available than what Alltel offers. It seems like in a way, it's a little tougher for Alltel to attract a customer. You won't see an Alltel commercial every time there's a primetime break on NBC or FOX because they don't have the advertising budget of a Verizon or AT&T, but every single person I know that has tried Alltel and has experience with another provider, has loved what Alltel offers in comparison. From the freedom with the phone, to the customer service, to the plans. I even have a cousin that sells AT&T and gets one of their phones for free, but won't give up his Alltel line because of the coverage difference.
I've had alltel after switching from suncom about 9 mos., and couldn't be happier. 4 phones on a family plan for about 40% less than suncom was. but the big difference is the coverage area. i have a total freedom plan, and with it there's no roaming whatsoever in the lower 48. the only drawback is a limit per phone of 1000 minutes for NITE/WKD, but with MY CIRCLE, who cares about that. the purported limit of 1000 M2M is not enforced since the my circle minutes and M2M minutes are categorized together. i'm real pleased so far.
Yes, we do honor unlimited My Circle minutes on the TF plans, but you ARE restricted to 1000 M2M. They may show on your bill as being lumped together, but they system sees them differently for billing purposes. So you can get M2M bills if you go over 1000 minutes. I see it all the time on bills.
i am easily running 1500 M2M minutes per month and haven't been billed for the first charge. i don't know where you're getting that information.
He is saying that if you were to call someone on Alltel that is not in your Circle for 1001 minutes, then you would get charged anytime minutes. But if you call someone that is in your circle for 1001 minutes then it is unlimited. The way that m2m is billed it clumps together your actual mobile to mobile minutes and the My Circle minutes. But when it comes to alltel to alltel mobile to mobile then you only get 1000.....
i need to go back and check my bills, but i can't imagine that i am talking any less than 1000 minutes to other alltel cell customers in any month and none are in the circle for me, and i've yet to be billed the first nickle. the bill even states M2M and MY CIRCLE UNLIMITED. the plan, however, does say the 1000limit applies. seems like if they kept track of the M2M as they do the nite/weekend, it would be set out on the bill.
in my last bill, i had over 900 minutes of just OUTgoing M2M calls, and numerous incoming calls from other alltel mobile phones. today i called alltel's 800 info number and the technician said she knew of no way they could distinguish between M2M and Circle calls. the other oddity on the bills is that there are many many incoming calls where the number is not even identified. what does the company do to classify calls like that? i believe there's a loophole here, as evidenced by the fact that NOWHERE on the bill is there a separate number for M2M calls, as they have for the night and weekends.
Normal Total Freedom plans only have 1,000 mobile-to-mobile minutes but, because of billing system limitations, any Total Freedom plan with My Circle is going to have unlimited mobile-to-mobile minutes because the bucket of minutes for My Circle and mobile-to-mobile is the same. The same billing system code is used for normal Total Freedom and My Circle Total Freedom plans, so the bill may display "1,000" in one place and "unlimited" in others. Granted, this is simply because of a system limitation, Alltel would probably prefer it not be this way and, I'm sure, as soon as they are able to do so, they will change it. Total Freedom customers with My Circle will always have unlimited minutes to their My Circle numbers but they may not have unlimited mobile-to-mobile forever, though they do currently.
MOTO: thanks for clearing that up. i agree with you, i think this little bonanza could be short-lived. i wouldn't think the programming change to track the true M2M calls would be that tough to make.
i have had alltel for almost one year now i switched from t-mobile, i have a family plan with 3 phones,alltel in my opinon is by far the best carrier, in the country , did you know that if you have alltel you get verizon and sprint towers for free nationwide, i have never had a clearer phone conversation on any other carriers phone. and rumor is they will be hopefully buying some 700 mhz towers and hopefully showing up in new citys across the country!
How long have you been with Alltel? I am searching for a good phone a great phone I should say, I am a busy person and need a durable phone...I was wondering if you know anything about The Alltel HueTM by Samsung? Thanks MMSP
