Alltel/AT&T areas waiting to convert

[Mark Uhde]

Every carrier will have major complaints from former Alltel customers. Change is hard for many people. Verizon, however, has never been good at treating anyone that well. Verizon was terrible for me. They're great if you're in New York or DC. They're horrible here (well, were, in fairness they've improved a LOT). But people still have this absurd idea that "they're the best"

[redline1]

I recently did a job in Williston, ND and traveled right through Sidney a lot. I have VZW and Alltel, it seemed to me that Alltel had the edge in coverage in that area but my only complaint with Alltel was the terrible data speeds. I might be wrong but I didn't think Alltel relied on VZW at all in that area. The only area I see as a problem is the market that VZW kept in Northern MT..I think ATT phones will read no service there..unless there was a gsm system there before that VZW will keep running...

Alltel doesn't rely on Verizon alot, but in the more rural areas....where all the oil activity is....they heavily rely on 2 smaller co-ops that operate their own network. I think this will hand this area over to either the big V or the co-ops, depending on the customer and where they travel....but I'm sure we're just a "drop in the bucket" to AT&T.....and ya our data speeds have always sucked.

[whitetigergrowl]

Every carrier will have major complaints from former Alltel customers. Change is hard for many people. Verizon, however, has never been good at treating anyone that well. Verizon was terrible for me. They're great if you're in New York or DC. They're horrible here (well, were, in fairness they've improved a LOT). But people still have this absurd idea that "they're the best"

Ok so you feel screwed for whatever reason. So then, who IS the best. Fact is someone IS the best compared to the others. Rated highest amongst a general group of people frequently. In terms of call quality and fewest dropped calls, best 3G and even 4G coverage, and overall customer satisfaction with that companies customer service.

So then, who is?

[Mark Uhde]

whitetiger, NO ONE is the best. That's my point. Ratings mean little. A carrier could have perfect everything nationwide, except for a little dead spot in your house. And guess what? That carrier would be the worst for you. There is no best or worst. I loved T-Mobile's customer service, device selection, and rate plans. But it didn't work well where I lived. I wouldn't hesitate for a second to go with T-Mobile in a market such as Los Angeles that they cover well. If you ride the Washington DC Metro on a regular basis, Verizon's the ONLY choice. Here in Montana, Alltel is already easily the best and I have no doubt that once AT&T takes over, they're going to blow Verizon out of the water. Unless you live in, say, Lincoln. A tiny town most Montanans are never even in - served by only MTPCS/CellularOne. Most people say CellularOne's coverage sucks. But if you live in Lincoln, or Condon, or one of another handful of places they're the only ones who cover, I can guarantee you - they're the BEST.

Dropped calls? Tell any dropped call and network reliability surveys that show Verizon as good to look at my Alltel (roaming on Verizon) phone last time I was in LA. It was AWFUL. There was bad AT&T in the area I was in to - but Sprint and T-Mobile were perfect. Take that up north to central Cali, where I have friends in Stevinson. Perfect AT&T coverage. Nothing else works inside, and barely works outside.

There is no best whitetiger. Only a best for what you need.

[sprke81]

Here in Montana, Alltel is already easily the best and I have no doubt that once AT&T takes over, they're going to blow Verizon out of the water.

Keep in mind that you practice what you preach..Verizon might be bad in your area in MT but in my area VZW completely blows Alltel out of the water every way there is to look at it and no I'm not drinking the red Koolaid its just the way it is in my area. Alltel/ATT has new towers in the works for my area and after that happens it will probably be about equal. I have also drove I94 quite a bit and had both Alltel and VZW with me and there was no clear winner they were both about the same. Same way in Billings area..

[bigpapa30]

Keep in mind that you practice what you preach..Verizon might be bad in your area in MT but in my area VZW completely blows Alltel out of the water every way there is to look at it and no I'm not drinking the red Koolaid

I think that is what he is saying. It is all about the area you are in that determines the "best" company.

[sprke81]

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Keep in mind that you practice what you preach..Verizon might be bad in your area in MT but in my area VZW completely blows Alltel out of the water every way there is to look at it and no I'm not drinking the red Koolaid

I think that is what he is saying. It is all about the area you are in that determines the "best" company.

Yes I know that's what he's saying generally speaking but it's simply not true to make a statement that Alltel is so much better then vzw in all of MT..Mark does not like big red so he goes a little to much the other way sometimes..

[izzaboo]

Alltel trainee in an Alltel store yesterday talked for 45 minutes about this stuff (with one customer while the other 8 customers waited in line, don't get me started on that!). He was talking so much BS, it kept me in good spirits.

He went on and on about ATT owning the towers in our area and verizon was renting from them and ATT is going to consistently and regularly lower the verizon antennas on the towers so VZW will get worse and worse reception. *sigh*

Anyway, has anyone seen any maps that *rate* coverage in areas around the country? Seems like some skilled web developers could make a site that would allow you to compare carriers in selected area. Would be handy. Could even make a mobile version.

The real trick would be to keep it current as ownership changes and networks are built out.

I think AT&T is going to improve the already pretty darn good overall service to my area. NE Wyoming.

[rfguygg]

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Root metrics is trying to do that. Only taking Iphone samples currently.

[Mark Uhde]

sprke, you're totally right, and I should have said where I am in Montana (northwest Montana - Kalispell/Polson areas most of the time). In eastern Montana, Verizon is definitely the best right now for sure - they roam on local carriers Alltel charges to roam on, they have a CMA that they got to keep from the Alltel buyout, and I do think their native network build is even a bit better. Proving, as I said, it all depends on what YOU need.

izzaboo, as you full well know, that's a load of cr*p. His dream world. You lease a spot on a tower, and the owner doesn't TOUCH your gear. Also, AT&T (ex-Alltel) owns a LOT of towers, but not even the majority of the ones Verizon uses. Verizon isn't colocated on many (any?) Alltel&T-owned sites, at least here.

[steve500]

Being that I can use up to 15gb+ or so some months on my 3G of my Evo I have activated on my alltel account, when the switch to AT&T happens in February here in central utah, am I going to have problems using that much data with AT&T ? .. do they have a data cap on their smartphone data plan? IF they do, Seeya later at&t, hello verizon. Also, AT&T has nothing for android phones.. what the heck?... this HTC Evo has been the god of all android phone's i've had. blows my mind. the aria will have to do though i guess until something good rolls out that supports at&T 3G band.

[sprke81]

Being that I can use up to 15gb+ or so some months on my 3G of my Evo I have activated on my alltel account, when the switch to AT&T happens in February here in central utah, am I going to have problems using that much data with AT&T ? .. do they have a data cap on their smartphone data plan? IF they do, Seeya later at&t, hello verizon. Also, AT&T has nothing for android phones.. what the heck?... this HTC Evo has been the god of all android phone's i've had. blows my mind. the aria will have to do though i guess until something good rolls out that supports at&T 3G band.

Was the EVO as easy to get 3G working as the Eris on Alltel? As far as Android phone on ATT the captivate is best Android phone on ATT IMO. I would say by the time your market transitions the Motorola Olympus will be out on ATT, that will be a very nice phone.

[Mark Uhde]

AT&T has a 2GB cap for new customers. Doesn't apply to Alltel customers keeping their Alltel plans or to AT&T customers prior to May 2010.

AT&T has the Captivate, a Samsung Galaxy S phone, one of the best Android handsets on the market.

Granted that is just one phone, and Samsung is notoriously terrible about software upgrades. They also have the Sony Xperia X10 - another fairly high end Android device, but that one's REALLY limited by ancient software!

So why don't they have other high end Android devices? They don't need them. T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint *NEED* Android. AT&T doesn't - people go to AT&T for the iPhone. While I highly doubt they're true, I really hope the Verizon iPhone rumors are true. A Verizon iPhone helps everyone (well, not AT&T) by forcing AT&T to quit being the worst carrier for data.