I have recently moved to Gardner, KS 66030. It is near Kansas City, KS. I called Alltel to cancel my service due to them not offering native service in the area. The CSR on the phone told me that they do offer service in my area, and would have to charge me the $200 ETF if I canceled. I was like ok then, can I get a new local number for this area (913 area code), I was told the closest number I could get would be a 785 or 620 area code, and this is not acceptable, I need to have a 913 number. They told me that I could not get a local number, so I was like then you do not offer service in this area. So I am confused, if they offer service why can't I get a local number. Is there anybody that can tell me if Alltel truely offers service in this area or not. Thanks Ryan
Alltel has service in most of Kansas, they have roaming agreements with Sprint and Verizon, so you can use your Alltel phone in the Kansas City area and you won't be billed for roaming, if you're on a National or Total Freedom rate plan. However, Alltel does not offer native service in the Kansas City area. As you can see from this map: (The dark blue is coverage, the light blue is roaming, the white is no service.) Alltel's native coverage stops east of Manhattan, but west of Topeka, along I-70. You can continue to use your Alltel service in Gardner (just be sure you're on a National or Total Freedom plan) but you won't be able to get a local 913 number because Alltel doesn't have 913 numbers available. On a National Freedom plan, you are covered (no long distance, no roaming) as long as your phone displays that you are within your home area or has a flashing (blinking on and off) roaming indicator. If you are on a National Freedom plan and have a solid (not blinking) then you will be billed for roaming. If you're on a Greater Freedom plan, you will be billed for roaming in that area. If you choose to cancel your service before your contract is up, you will be billed the $200+tax per line early disconnect penalty. It doesn't matter that you moved out of Alltel's native network, if you cancel, you pay the fee. You can have the service signed into someone else's name and credit, however, and they can take over the rest of your contract. It's called a "change of responsibility," I believe. Hope this helps.
Moto is very correct. I will just attempt to simplify things... Alltel offers coverage in that area, you will continue to get service. Alltel has no native coverage, so your service will be a free roam from Sprint or Verizon. Since they have no native coverage, Alltel simply doesn't have a number with a local area code to give you. This generally isn't a problem for most people because cell providers generally don't charge any extra for long distance calling which Alltel doesn't on the National Freedom plan. Since Alltel still has the capabilities to provide service where you are, the ETF would still apply if you cancel. But before you do, why not try out the service in the area. It probably wouldn't be any better with another provider. The area code problem might not be as big of a deal as you think.
The only problem I can see is that it would be a long distance call from most landlines within that area. There's a lady I do computer work for. She has a cell number from Oklahoma City, but she has lived in Amarillo for the past 4 years. It's her only phone and it works for her.
Thanks for the replies guys, I realised most everything you have said. My problem is, that I need to have a local numer up here for business purposes. And I hate to say it but this appears to be one of the few areas that Verizon is better than Alltel. When I had my Verizon service a few years back, i moved to an area that Verizon did not offer native service in. Now I could get service there since they had a roaming agreement with the local carrier. Verizon let me out of my contract without any kind of penalty. It wouldnt be so bad if Alltel would prorate the the ETF since I have been a customer for alteast a year. So it looks like I am down to coming up with an extra $200 unless I can come up with somethign else. <edit> I forgot one question about this, what will alltel do since, 100% of my minutes will be on a roamin partners tower? I used about 1500 minutes a month. Will the cancel me since I am not using any minutes on an Alltel tower? </edit> Thanks Ryan
Its not very likely they will cancel you for roaming. They have a great roaming agreement with Verizon and dont seem to care how much you roam on them. Verizon in the area is great. I very rarely have trouble anywhere they cover. Alltel's coverage leaves alot to be desired in Kansas though. Especially the farther you get from the city.
I have heard this about many areas in Kansas also. Though I will say that I've heard other areas are covered well. Let's hope that Alltel looks into this issue in the future because in many of those rural areas, Alltel is the only option, however, Pioneer is starting to expand in those areas. With a little attention in the future, I think it could be an Alltel stronghold because they hold so many licenses throughout the state.
You might as well keep Alltel. They will let you know if you are roaming too much. If they don't like it, you will get a letter stating that they will cancel your service, but you will not have to pay the ETF. So just hang on to it hope for the best, that way you won't have to pay the 200.
Where I lived and travelled to in KS I didn't have any problems (other than a dead spot near the cowley / butler county line. I do remember nearly everyone from western KS carried a candy bar nokia phone. For reference, most of the time I was in Cowley or Sumner counties.
That is good to hear. I have never been in the area just heard 2-3 people asking for help regarding coverage in a couple places in the state. But you know in these online forums, it's always the people having trouble that search out these forums for help to see if there's anything they can do. The people with good coverage just go on with life and you never hear all the stories about great coverage in the region. I'm sure rural KS is a place where every carrier has problems at one place or another but I do know, since I've lived in a rural place, I would much rather be with alltel because they do generally do pay attention to rural areas unlike some other companies.
