Alltel Comes to the Unlimited Party

Even as they shrink into a smaller carrier, Alltel Wireless has finally come up with some nice Unlimited plans. They matched the major carriers with their own $70 Unlimited Talk plan with matching Family Plans. Then they went one step further and introduced a Prepaid version of their Unlimited plan for $45, which may be a real winner.

For now, the Prepaid Unlimited coverage map looks like both the Alltel and Verizon Wireless networks are included, which is larger than the coverage offered by the other $45 Unlimited plan offered by Straight Talk which is limited to the Verizon Wireless network. However, if you call Alltel, they claim Prepaid Unlimited does not roam off the Alltel network even though their maps show otherwise. We believe the map since it looks like a very new and unique map with huge holes in the middle of Minnesota and Oregon.

You do need to be in their own service area to sign up and they still only require a 1-year contract for their postpaid plans. At least Alltel has come to the Unlimited knife fight with competitive plans which keeps them at the top of our Reviews. Better late than never.

We have Unlimited plan reviews by Price, and by Carrier.

The Rise of Page Plus

Page Plus Cellular has risen to become, in our opinion, one of the most desirable alternative cellular services, and this week they got even better. Their rise has followed the expansion of the Verizon Wireless network to the point where Page Plus, like Verizon, now offers service in most of the country. Page Plus uses the Verizon network, and does it at a very competitive rate that you can pay as you go. You can also pick up their $40 Unlimited Talk & Text plan. A recent rate adjustment lowered their per minute rate to as low as .04 a minute and this week they cut their Roaming fees in half, to .29 per minute.

T-Mobile's Prepaid has been our favorite low-cost plan for several years, but these new Page Plus plans have us considering them as the new leader in low-cost wireless. Their only downside is their 120-day expiration vs. T-Mobile's 365-day reset. Their Customer Service isn't growing as fast as the number of subscribers, so that may also be considered a reason for caution.

One of the considerations in Page Plus's favor is their lower acquisition cost. Their Activation fee is $10, but it can be had for less than $1 if you look around. The cheapest way to start service is to use an old, non-active Verizon Wireless phone. There are a lot of those around. That might include one you may be using now. While T-Mobile Prepaid can be used in any old T-Mobile or unlocked GSM phone, we need to cross the $100 of refills threshold before enjoying their Gold Rewards 1-year expiration time. T-Mobile allows no-cost roaming off their network, but with Page Plus there's little chance of losing your home network. And even when you do, Text Messages are still .08 each, Roaming or not. T-Mobile's .10 a minute voice rate is beginning to look expensive. Ain't competition grand?

Finding Cell Sites

One of our most popular web sites helps you Find Cell Sites. Recently when updating the site we found several wireless companies that reveal their own cell sites, either on a map or a list. We re-arranged the link categories to show cell site information categorized by carrier, tower companies, the FCC and others.

That there is enough data to need to break it up into categories is good news. As we face fewer carriers each year, it's nice to know this information is still available. The best maps come from the smallest carriers.

KGI Wireless, one of the "tower" companies, was a good source of Alltel tower locations and now identifies most of those locations as belonging to Verizon Wireless. The reality is that more towers are adding more carriers, and many of those towers credited to Verizon may eventually be transferred to AT&T or ATN. So, it's still takes some detective work to find your sites.

Carriers: "We're Here to Help"

I received an email from one of the major carriers who claimed "we're here for you" and listed several links to "helpful" pages on their web site. One of the links tells me I can "find the phone and plan that fits your needs." Visiting that page I can only find 3 plans listed, with 450, 900 and Unlimited minutes. What about their less expensive plans, like the $35/350 minute plan, or the $30 Senior plan? What if one of those plans "fits my needs"?

We're not bashing any carrier for showing only selected plans, we are cautioning consumers to either do your homework when selecting plans, or get your data from independent sources. An example is the site dedicated just to comparing Unlimited Wireless Plans, or our own Unlimited Plans Page.

What a concept: 'Buyer Beware.' I'm surprised there aren't more cellular users choosing to Pay-as-you-go. Fortunately, readers in this forum are leading the way there.

Tennessee Carrier Reviews

Unless you live in the Volunteer State, there isn't much interest in Tennessee cellular service. With the addition of our Mountain Wireless Tennessee Cellular Reviews the big news is that with this state, we have finally completed our carrier reviews for all 50 states. It's a big deal to us, and to those living in the area.

We started these reviews almost 10 years ago, and Tennessee certainly wasn't the hardest place to review, but quite often we added a state after the contribution of a knowledgeable local who knew which carriers served their state and how well. We salute those contributors, some of whom have slipped into the unknown. If you know of a carrier we missed, let us know. Some of them just change their name.

There have been a few difficult choices as to which carriers to include in a state. Like in Tennessee, Alltel now only serves one county, and the network in that area will soon be turned over to AT&T. Should we include them? We do. Or how about those carriers that have 1 or 2 cell sites just over the state line from their home area? We include them too. Sadly, some larger carriers don't offer a unique enough service that justifies a state-specific review for them. We do, however, provide carrier-specific reviews in the "general observations" entry at the top of the pages where we have enough opinion supplied for that state. I think it's time to update our Hawaii Reviews...personally!

Add US Cellular to the Unlimited List

Whew! It's good to see US Cellular jump on the lower Unlimited Plans bandwagon. It may not help their bottom line, but it keeps them in the game and that makes us happy. US Cellular is a great competitor and we like their alternatives to the other carriers. While Free incoming calls is of less value in the face of now more desirable unlimited plans, they are still the leader in family plan pricing for 3 lines and more. They only add $50 for each member after the first 2. US Cellular customers still get free roaming and don't overlook their free battery exchange.

Sprint appears to want to keep hanging their hat on their "Any Mobile Any Time" plan at the same $70 price point, hoping that nobody cares that calls to land lines and calls while roaming off the Sprint network are not included. C'Mon guys, just toss in Free Texts and you're golden!

Follow the changes on our Unlimited Plan Comparison Page.

AT&T Matches Unlimited

As expected, AT&T has matched Verizon's new Unlimited plan prices. Friday we thought marketing departments may be scrambling. I now think this reaction is a prepared response that was sitting in a folder all ready for release. However, I bet Verizon's timing still kept some AT&T honchos from slipping out for an early weekend.

The next step is to see how Alltel and US Cellular respond. Alltel can do whatever needs to be done, they'll just hit 'reset' in a few months. But could this be the beginning of the end for US Cellular? There is also a number of small carriers who has set their own nationwide Unlimited plans at around $100. We hope they can compete...and still survive.

Cricket still offers the cheapest Unlimited Talk plan at $30, and that now includes a lot of coverage.

Sprint Tries to Match Verizon

As expected, Sprint tried to "match" the new Verizon Wireless Unlimited plans. Verizon's price for Unlimited Voice, Text and Data drops to $100, and Sprint makes an issue of the fact that they now offer it all at that price, too. But they already did.

Sprint needs to drop their prices instead of playing the same old song. Verizon has fired the first shot of a potential price war, and Sprint responds with a press release. Maybe we don't understand their reaction, but they will need to make some cuts. You can bet wireless marketing offices are buzzing like beehives today, and they have Verizon to thank for cutting into their holiday weekend. OK, who's next?

Verizon Wireless Drops Prices!

Price reductions announced today at Verizon Wireless:

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — New monthly service plans from Verizon Wireless make connecting to the nation’s most reliable wireless network easier than ever. Beginning Jan. 18, customers may sign up for a new Nationwide Unlimited Talk plan that allows customers to call anyone in the United States for $69.99 monthly access or a Nationwide Unlimited Talk & Text plan to call and send text, picture and video messages to anyone in the country for $89.99 monthly access.
Nationwide Family SharePlans® will also have new unlimited options. Nationwide Unlimited Talk Family SharePlans will be $119.99 monthly access while the Nationwide Unlimited Talk & Text Family SharePlans will be $149.99 monthly access. All Family SharePlan pricing includes the first two lines of service. Standard text message rates will apply for customers on the Nationwide Unlimited Talk plans who do not sign up for a text messaging bundle.

The company also announced the expansion of the 25 megabyte for $9.99 per month data package requirement to include all Verizon Wireless 3G Multimedia phones, which gives customers quick access to Mobile E-mail, games and the Internet.

Verizon Wireless will also offer customers new prepaid plans beginning Jan. 18. For those who prefer pay-as-you-go options, but want a no-holds approach to calling and texting, new Monthly Unlimited Prepaid plans will give customers the same great calling options as monthly contract subscribers for just $5 more per month. Prepaid Monthly Unlimited Talk is now available for $74.99 per month while contract subscribers pay $69.99 for the same unlimited calling option. Prepaid Monthly Unlimited Talk & Text will be available for $94.99 per month. The 450- and 900-minute Monthly Prepaid plans will also be available for $5 more per month than comparable postpaid plans.

Today’s announcement will not have an impact on existing customer contracts, although customers may choose to move to any of the new plans. The company allows customers to change their service plans at any time without penalty or contract extension.

We'll track these changes on our Unlimited Page and our Prepaid Site.

Important Numbers in Your Phone

So there I was, for the first time in decades, stranded on the side of a rural road with a car that wouldn't run, and no idea where I was. Fortunately, with GPS I found there was a town relatively close by, and with cellular I knew I could call for help. But who to call?

I haven't had car trouble in decades, so I never joined AAA. The easiest answer is to call "411" on your cellular phone at a $1 to $2 charge. I found that doesn't work for all wireless phones. What does work is Google's automated directory service, "Google-411", which I had programmed into my phone (800-GOOG-411). For no charge, they connected me to a couple of repair garages.

While waiting for Ralph to rescue us, I thought of all the important numbers I had programmed into my phone book. Everyone should do it and we listed them on our CellularBackDoor Tips Page. Don't put it off. Do it now. Enter your "ICE" number, "Home", a Directory number, and your auto club, but don't enter "911". I can assure you, the day you need it, you will praise yourself for thinking ahead. Yes, it can mean life or death. I'd rather think it justifies every penny spent on cellular, and on that glove box spare...on a different wireless network.

More Unlimited Changes

It was just a few days ago we updated the look and data of our Unlimited Plans Page, when more changes appeared, not all of them good. Cricket's $25 plan is no longer available except in a few markets where the competition forces them to keep that price (Hello Texas!). MetroPCS no longer offers their $30 Unlimited plan, however, they have improved their $40 plan again. Now it includes all taxes and fees. We expected these cheaper plans to disappear after the holidays.

The good news? NET10 has dropped their Unlimited plan from $80 to $50 (thanks, William). For now, it's only available at retail stores (Target) and not online. NET10 phones are still GSM only.

We're still expecting something from Sprint's Virgin Mobile brand. Last week Sprint added CDMA phones to the Boost Unlimited offerings using the Sprint PCS network, without the PTT function.