[LUconn]

I know there's kind of a territory thing going on with verizon and alltel (even though verizon owns alltel) so verizon doesn't sell anything around here. But does anybody know if I can go to Richmond or someplace that does sell it and buy a phone and their service?

[Sly Fox]

Yes. And for the record I never had any signal problems at all for data services or calls no matter where I was in Central Virginia on this past trip (including the Sunnymeade/Dodson area). Signal strength should not be an issue moving forward.

[LUconn]

Excellent. I'm in the market for a blackberry, and while the curve is nice and is my backup plan, the storm is coming out this month and should cost the same. But obviously you've got to be with Verizon.

[tinytim]

You can get verizon at Smith mountain lake

[ALUmnus]

How do Verizon's plans compare to someone like Ntelos. I too would like to go with the Storm, but Ntelos' plan prices are so low.

[thepostman]

I don't have verizon and get speak too much about their services...but my brothers both have verizon up here and they had heard somewhere the altell towers will be officially turned over to Verizon in Jan. not sure if that is true or not though

[tinytim]

they will be turned over because Verizon bought alltell. I'm excited because I use verizon and then I would assume that the alltell stores will also be turned to verizon.

[Fumblerooskies]

The purchase of Alltel by Verizon has been officially approved

It's official. The Federal Communications Commission Tuesday approved the long-expected $28.1 billion merger between Verizon (NYSE:VZ) Wireless and Alltel (NYSE:AT). Separately, the commission also gave the nod to the $14.5 billion merger of Sprint (NYSE:S)-Nextel and Clearwire.

With the merger, Verizon becomes the largest wireless carrier in the U.S. Under financial terms of the deal, Verizon is acquiring Alltel for $5.9 billion plus the assumption of $22.2 billion in debt.

The Verizon-Alltel agreement was first announced in June. The deal was pretty much sealed last week after FCC discussions but not voted on until Tuesday.

http://www.crn.com/networking/212000671

[TDDance234]

What is that going to do to present Alltel customers, I wonder? I've been looking to switch providers and this may be my chance.

[LUconn]

Does anybody here have a blackberry? Their plans mention an email package but isn't that the same thing as a data plan?

[JDUB]

i would like to get a blackberry but alltel has too high of rates for them. i wonder if i can hold out till January or February if i can get a better deal

[Sly Fox]

I've been rocking an 8830 World Edition for about a year and a half and I can't say enough great things about the Blackberry experience. Mrs. Sly picked up a Curve a month or so ago and is still feeling it out.

Frankly I don't know the difference between the two packages. I have data packages on both of our phones and I pay a few extra bucks so I can tether my laptop.

The Storm looks sweet although I admit I prefer the feel of my current keyboard to the touchscreen. I tried to talk my wife to wait until the launch but patience is not her strong suit.

The apps work nearly identically to the iPhone but the gaming is better on Apple's phone (although we'll see how the Storm plays).

For business and email functions the Blackberry is unrivaled. You lose some of the speed with Yahoo and Gmail accounts. But any other emails will ping your phone instantly.

[Hold My Own]

I'm not sure if you have to go to Verizon but I have some employee offers I can give you with sprint that no other companies can compare to. BUT if you are going with verizon feel good that a tower should be built here soon as they finalized the deal with my parents land

[JDUB]

doesn't sprint have bad coverage?
i have to stay with alltel cause i'm on a family plan

[Kolzilla41]

I have sprint and have had no problems. Their service is great but the only thing they lack are the cool phones.

[Hold My Own]

doesn't sprint have bad coverage?
i have to stay with alltel cause i'm on a family plan

Never once had problems with coverage until I bought this iphone wannabe and even then it's rare

[phoenix]

I thought about going with Verizon, but Sprint's $99 unlimited everything plan has me hooked. I've had Sprint for eleven years now, and haven't really had a problem with it.

I wish T-Mobile's G3 service was decent (and they had any kind of coverage up here), because I want a G1. I figure if I wait another few months, Sprint will get an Android phone (AT&T will have one in the next few months, from what I've heard).

{ets}HMO, do you have the Instinct? How is it? I'm debating between it and a Blackberry right now when I upgrade.

[Hold My Own]

Well I like sprint...although I could get 2400 minutes for around $40 bucks but since I got the Instinct I'm unable to and have to do the simply everything plan



The instinct serves its purpose I'm waiting an android phone though....the app's that will come out on that will be no different then apples and you wont be locked to one certain phone as many will run that operating system

[Sly Fox]

There may come a point in the not too distant future where you wont have to make a choice regarding staying with Sprint. Alltel wasn't the only wireless company in serious financial trouble.

And for the record, T-Mobile service is terrible just about everywhere. Cricket is bad as well but it is ridiculously cheap. Hopefully they set up shop in Virginia to give you a cheap alternative.

[Kolzilla41]

Whats going on with Sprint Sly?

[Hold My Own]

they made one last chance to save sprint by coming out with the instinct and it failed miserably....they'll be bought out here soon.

[Sly Fox]

The $99 plan was what had kept them alive this long. They could be bought by an overseas operator looking to tap into the U.S. market. Then again they may be going the way of Cingular or Alltel.

[Hold My Own]

They were smart by making you get that plan in order to get the one phone with the company that 1 out of 5 had to try

[flamesbball84]

There may come a point in the not too distant future where you wont have to make a choice regarding staying with Sprint. Alltel wasn't the only wireless company in serious financial trouble.

And for the record, T-Mobile service is terrible just about everywhere. Cricket is bad as well but it is ridiculously cheap. Hopefully they set up shop in Virginia to give you a cheap alternative.

i've never had problems with t-mobile, neither has the rest of my family and a few t-mobile wielding friends...