Overview:
Alltel is a wireless technology company based in Little Rock, AR. They give their customers residential service, business-based technology services, and individual wireless service.Pros: When you buy a Smart Choice plan with Alltel, you get unlimited BlackBerry Internet services, a bucket of anytime minutes, and unlimited mobile-to-mobile minutes. You also get unlimited text messaging, unlimited night and weekend minutes, and basic voice mail. The penalties for going over your minutes are high, but they do decrease as the plans get more expensive.
Cons: We would highly suggest you don’t go over your minutes, because the cost for doing that is $0.40 if you have a less expensive plan. The prices of the plans are high, but you do get quite a bit of freedom with voice calls and texting.
Detailed Provider Information:
Voice Plan Options: Alltel has five different BlackBerry plans. The first plan offers users 500 anytime minutes per month and unlimited nights and weekends, and unlimited mobile-to-mobile minutes. It costs $69.99 a month. The second plan offers the same amount of minutes as the Smart Choice 500, but also includes My Circle, a program that allows users to call up to ten numbers on the network, anytime, anywhere in America. It costs $89.99 per month. This plan also offers the option to add other lines, up to 4, at a cost of 20 dollars per regular line and 40 dollars per smartphone line. These lines will also receive unlimited messaging.The Smart Choice 1200 plan includes 1200 anytime minutes and My Circle, plus all the features of the Smart Choice 500 plans. It costs $109.99 a month. The next-expensive plan, the Smart Choice 5500, gives you 5500 anytime minutes, My Circle, and all the features of the Smart Choice 1200 plan. It costs $189.99.
Data Options: All Smart Choice plans have unlimited data per month for BlackBerries.
Messaging Options: You get unlimited text messaging with Alltel’s $89.99 BlackBerry plan. MMS is included.
Customer Service: On their website, Alltel has a page that’s dedicated solely to customer service. You can choose to call them, email them, or write to them. As well, you can sign into your account and pay bills and get support. Alltel also has an extensive frequently-asked questions page and a knowledgebase so that you can find out anything you need to about your phones and plans.
Contract: BlackBerry phones require at least a two-year contract, and if you want to terminate early, you’ll have to pay $200.
Messaging: You get unlimited texting with the $89.99 plan from Alltel. MMS capabilities are also now available for the BlackBerry Pearl, with an upgrade to OS 4.5.
International Calling and Messaging: Alltel does offer international calling once you activate the service. You pay $3.99 a month for discounted per-minute rates to select countries. If you don’t have international calling, you may have to pay more than the domestic rate of $0.50 a minute for long distance calls. You can find out more here.
Roaming Charges: There are roaming charges on Alltel’s plans. For every minute you are roaming, you will incur a charge of $0.59 per minute. In some areas, roaming can incur a $3.00 usage fee and up to $0.99 per minute. You can also be charged up to $0.50 per minute for domestic long distance calls.
Activation Fee: All plans include a one-time activation fee of $25.
Additional Features: Along with My Circle, which is included on some plans, you can also get Axcess, which gives you more messaging options (picture and video), ringtones, applications, downloads and more. You can also get games on your phone.
Insurance: Alltel will, in most cases, replace or repair your equipment if it gets lost, stolen, or damaged. However, you must call them immediately so that they can suspend your service.
Phones: Alltel offers three BlackBerry models, including the Bold 9650. Although they only offer a few, they're all later models and very stylish. Some Additional BlackBerry Models Available:
BlackBerry Curve 8530
BlackBerry Pearl flip 8230
BlackBerry Curve 9330
Coverage Map: The Alltel coverage map can be found here.



