With leaked reports coming in of Verizon Wireless acquiring Alltel, it has been made official that the deal will go through for $28.1 billion creating the largest wireless company in the U.S. in customer numbers by putting Verizon at 80 million over AT&T’s 71 million.
The cash merger is a result of Verizon acquiring the equity of Alltel for about $5.9 billion and the net debt of $22.2 billion. The merger is expected to come full circle by the end of 2008 if the regulatory approvals go as planned.
The result of the merger will leave the customers with an expanded IN calling network and Alltel’s customers will have the option of downloading music over the air from the 3 million song library along with Verizon’s unique 30 day network trial policy. Not only will Alltel benefit from consumer oriented practices, they will be able to take advantage of the LTE technology which will put Verizon into the 4th generation line up in the next few years.
On the other hand, Verizon will benefit by penetrating the 57 markets that Alltel operates in and the 13 million customers that they service in 34 states. With both of the companies using a similar network, the transition will be easier for the customers and beneficial to both companies.
Alltel’s President and CEO, Scott Ford, will remain in his position until the merger is complete.
Has this been effected yet?
I am an alltel costumer and I have tried Verizon once. And Alltel is much better, but with all the comments and the news I’m reading it seems like Verizon isn’t going to keep most if any of Alltels service plans. Verizon is expensive and you seem to get less out of it. Alltel is convient and you you get a lot more out of it. I think I’m going to talk to the Alltel and Verizon costumer service to make sure.. but if Alltel isn’t allowed to still have the same features with Verizon then I’m switching to another carrier.
I am an AllTell customer been one for 7 years the best wireless company one could have. We had Verizon for 2 years once the contract was up we switched immediately they had poor customer service!!! If anything changes I will be going to another wireless server because I will not put up with Verizon bs.
haha.. Ya Verizon’s Customer service isn’t the greatest. I just wanna know when i can text my best friend without costing extra $$$
I hate this crap altell was the best and I will stand by it tell the dumb swich. but I still wont to know if I can text verizin by a altell phone with out the extra fees! well its late in GA I am going to sleep. later
read and find out what your talking about before you open your mouth and diss this merger
Verizon Wireless just announced they are doing the Friends & Family circle where you can choose 5 -10 numbers to call (allowance depends on price plan chosen). These numbers can be other carriers and/or landlines. I not only have been with Verizon Wireless since 2001, but I use to work in one of their customer service centers. For those people talking about bad customer service, I’m actually shocked because for the last 7-8 years, Verizon has had one of the highest customer service ratings among most of the carriers.
At least in the call centers, we go through an extensive 6-8 week customer service training which is the best I have seen in my 13 years of customer service experience. Just an FYI as well.. when Verizon Wireless acquires Alltel, it means that they will be acquiring their towers so whatever coverage you got with Alltel, you will continue to get. The only difference is that Verizon Wireless’ towers will now be added to that coverage.
My sister had Verizon Wireless before I worked there in 2001 and she did not like it then so cancelled. However, I convinced her to go back with them and she agrees they have improved greatly in coverage, call quality, and customer service. So, just give them a chance before you are so quick to down play them.
You can always ask them if you will get a month to try it out once it is switched over. Usually they will but you will have to find that out by calling. If they do, then you can try it out, if you don’t like it, then cancel. Have a great day!
Will you be able to use a verizon phone with a current alltel plan, and when they do finally merge and your current contract ends do you have to get a new one with verizon?
i wonder if now we have alot more phone options
idk wut to say
can you buy an alltel phone and put it in a verizon plan now? nobody can answer this question!!!???
Heather, at this time you cannot officially activate Alltel phones on Verizon. Some phones can be modified however. For more information, post your question in the Verizon forum.
I think the merge will be alright. I am a verizon customer and i have had no problems. I own an Alias and i love more than i have any other phone. I have not been with the Alltel network before though, so I cant say if your network is better than mine. But with verizon, we have a pay as you go and we have a good selection of prepaid phones. We can text and talk to verizon cutomers for free as well. We also have something similar to a my circle deal. We can talk to ten people, land line or other network, for free. Some of alltel phones may go to verizon, i am not sure. If they do, they may be modified for a 3G network. But, if they dont, you still have many options in verizon phones. If you want a blackberry, go with a black berry storm. If you want a samsung, go with an Alias, ect. To me, the prices are not high, for all the things that i can do. I can tell you one thing though, it is better than AT&T!
im a semi-satisfied verizon customer. i definately dont like their interface. but where i live, im sitting in alltel territory. i have to travel 40 minutes to be on a verizon tower. with this merger, ill be on a verizon tower at home. this means a new phone with more features for me *cough* storm *cough*. my z6tv is nice for calling and texting, but id like a little more from my phone.
I live in one of those areas where alltel is being bought by verizon.I used tohave service with Bell Atlantic and Verizon bought them and service dropped like a rock .When I was with Bell Atlantic all my call went though , very seldom if any dropped calls, always rang when called, verizon took over and lots of dropped calls I could call my cel ohone from my home phone it watch it not ring and go to voice mail. This would happen 5 to 6 times of dialing the number before it eventually rang.I swithched to alltel after numerous trips to stores and tech talks on phone.
Now fastfoward 7 years and once again I am geting pulled back in as a verizon customer ,still under contract for a few more months . There isnt alot of choices left that works for me since I travel and AT&T just has too many holes .They are the only other that come close ,so I hope over the last 7 years verizon has changed as to not be a repeat type of deal.
Termination Fee: It’s not me that’s changing carriers so I shouldn’t have to pay a termination fee if I choose to move to another carrier. My contract should be void since I made that contract with Alltel not Verizon. I DID NOTchoose Verizon for a reason, I chose Alltel.
Being FORCED to have Verizon as a carrier is not right.
Try getting a broken phone fixed now with NO stores to go to for several states.
To all those that may say “you can change carriers, just pay the termination fee”… you want to pay it for me because I can’t afford it.
To all you people who think Alltel is way better than Verizon You really need to sit down and look at the plans before you speek. Verizon offers My friends and Family.. same thing as MY circle. Verizons plans are priced cheaper and they do have way better features. So do some damn research before you make comments!!!!
Jeremy- just to clear you up a bit I have been doing “some damn research” as you so nicely put it, since being notified of the buyout last year. For ME personally, I like Alltel, if you like Verizon I’m happy for you. MY comment was on the fact we who are being forced over did not have the OPTION to go to another company if we so chose to do so without a termination fee. Verizon DOES NOT have the same plan and features for a cheaper rate that I currently have. I currently have 3 phones, more minutes, more features and 10 My Circle numbers ALL FOR LESS than Verizon wants!
that sucks..im an alltel customer….and the areas here in michigan that verizon is selling to AT&T i am barely in…so woohoo..looks like i will be at&t customer….any body know exactly when this will happen…..the date? i still have a year and a half left on alltel contract. so im still alltel/verizon….but i know im in the area to be sold to at&t..just wondering if anyone had any input on when this may happen.
I have been with Alltel since 2000 in Colorado. I had great reception everywhere so I got rid of my home phone. After the merger my reception went to crap and I have to walk outside to talk on my phone. I don’t know what happened but thanks Verizon. Come on end of 2 year committment!
I have been with Alltel for quite some time and being on a pay-per-day plan with unlimited nights and weekends,unlimited mobile and unlimited text which fit my budget and need considering i cant afford the deposit for a contract phone, i have found that Verizons pay-per-day plan is more expensive all the way around from the daily fee to the features, it wouldnt be fair to be forced into changing to Verizons prepaid plan, its many people including myself that cant afford it, many on fixed income,some disabled people that need to have a phone with a plan they can afford and with the features therefore if we alltel customers have to go with Verizon then verizon should should be compassionate enough to allow us to keep the prepaid plan that we have with Alltel or change their prepaid plans to be exactly like the Alltel prepaid plans, im sure with the many people thats depending on those plans Verizon would make just as much profit if not more than with the prepaid plans that they have,I also feel that if Verizon doesnt accept the alltel pre-paid plan then they are not caring about the customers need and financial status which would make them selfish as well as greedy and inconsiderate of poor or disabled people, if everybody could afford the contract phone service then they all would have have them.
The Alltel/Verizon merger has been a nightmare! The horror is that it has cost my 78 year old Mother, who’s living on a fixed income, over $300.00. After the switch from Alltel to Verizon was completed, my Mother’s pre-paid cell phone, with over $117.00 of time, no longer worked. The kind-hearted, compassionate folks (not) at the new Verizon store told her she had to purchase a new phone, new pre-paid card, pay for the activation fee, and all the surcharges, taxes, and other fees they deemed necessary. With Verizon’s pre-paid plan, my Mother is now having to pay $0.25 per minute instead of her previous rate of $0.15 per minute with Alltel. Verizon said they could not add the $117.00 balance from Mom’s old phone to the new one they said she had to buy. Verizon said this transition would be a smooth one. Flat-out truth is, Verizon LIED! Are there any lawyers specializing in class action suits amongst us?
I agree with so many of you! We all need an attorney to represent us in a class action suit! the FCC and FTC should step in and stop Verizon from charging us the Early Term Fees, since…WE DID NOT CHOOSE TO DO BUSINESS WITH VERIZON!!! I happen to live in an area where when they came in, they closed down a call center, that I worked in for a year, and put over 200 employees out of a job! Right at Christmas! THEY ARE THE ANTI-CHRIST!!! I do not want to give them My MONEY!! COME ON YOU MONEY HUNGRY ATTORNEYS OUT THERE….READ THIS AND JUMP ON THE BAND WAGON! WE NEED A CLASS ACTION SUIT!!
HEY..Jeremy…dumb shit….you can go rith on there web site and see, their plans SUCK! The friends and family shit they offer, is only available on plans WITH OVER 900 MIN!! Those plans are ExPeNsIvE!! Alltel did not work that way! You got 1 my circle number with plans starting at 39.99 and then 5 on the next plan at 49.99 and then 10 on plans 59.99 and above!! SEE THE DIFFERENCE…MORON?? I think you should be the one doing some “Damn Research!”
To whomever it may concern:My previous comment (as well as this one) was left by automated spamming software. I just took a look at some of the sites that it hit and I see that it seems to have left comments in inappropriate places that made the comments themselves seem pretty damn insensitive. I just wanted to clear up the fact that I never actually read any of the posts and I’m really not a horrible person – It was all done automatically by a robot that left a comment on a bunch of blog posts that contained the phrase “my life sucks”. I sincerely apologize if I offended anyone – I’m just a spammer who was trying to get links to his site.If you haven’t already, you should probably delete the original comment, along with this one.
I’ve had alltel for 7 years…will my time continue with verizon or will it start over with a new 2 year plan?