Verizon Wireless’s acquisition of Alltel is approved by the DOJ

I have ATT and work for the company and acknowledge that Verizon’s network is better but there coverage is not everywhere. My coworker has service with verizon and must move to the window to either make a legible call or hear the caller clearly. SO to everyone who thinks Verizon service is ubiquitous throughout the country think again

you guys keep saying that cdma can’t use voice and data at the same time, but calls are 1x and data is evdo. i’m pretty sure that they can use data and voice they just haven’t made a phone that could do both because verizon is greedy. and didn’t i read somewhere that the storm will do both?

Will we still have myCircle?

Doubt it. That will probably be the first thing to go.

Wow I can see the future:
-canadianlike data prices
-hellish cs
-more bullshit neutered devices

Uh…yeah, a bigger VZW is better IMO. More $$$ = more coverage, investments in infrastructure, etc. Thumbs up here. Hell, Cingular bought AT&T. Why not. If it was VZW buying Sprint, then it would cause some issues because there’s no ‘large’ alternative to those that prefer the CDMA technology. Ditto if AT&T wanted to purchase TMO. Get smaller than the big 4, then we’ve got issues as customers.

fist of tmobile is biiger than you think you just counting the us branch an not germany or the uk an then theres deutch telecom NUFF said
secondly if sprint goes belly up and is not able to survive this slow growth period well have a triopoly here

Next VW buys sprint ATT buys the controlling share of Tmobile US and the the deregulation nuts in the DOJ will really be happy VW and ATT will be a able to charge what they please and all consumers will be able to do is bend over. There should be a law…or someone should enforce the ones we have.

whats next at&t buys out tmobile lol

I’m still not clear why so many people think these companies keep raising prices. The only thing they have raised really is txt per message charges. If anything they have lowered prices(indirectly mind you) to the consumer. Gee how much did it cost last year for a 3000 minute basic plan? Probably about $150, now each one of the big 4 have an unlimited plan starting at $99.99……….UNLIMITED CALLING. They all have unlimited messaging plans…for $20 VZW would give you unlimited “in” messaging and 5000 out of network. Now for $20 they give you UNLIMITED messaging. If you haven’t noticed companies are bundling features now in calling plans as opposed to the past, yes you still have your basic plans which by the way ATT and Verizon’s basic plans are pretty much identical then they give you another tier for messaging and Verizon even has another tier for the main features (unlimited web broswing, vcast, vz nav, mobile email) More expensive….yes……do you get more….YES!

Verizon (and ATT from the best of my knowledge)hasn’t changed their base plans in years, there have been adjustments to those plans but the base rate has not changed.

The chances of VZW buying out Sprint and ATT buying out T-Mob are very very very slim. The FCC and/or DOJ would never let that happen. That’s why Verizon is buying Alltel now, Alltel isn’t that big comparitively.

As far as Sprints $99.99 plan for everything…….reeeeeeeeeks of desperation.

Not sure about ATT but Verizon’s CSR’s are all located within the US. I have never once been on the phone with a foreign rep that i could not understand.

Ever been to Alltel’s website? I have been on a few times recently reading about MyCircle and their other products/plans. Anyone noticed you can’t even see the calling plans without putting in a zip code where Alltel has a store??? I put in my home zip code, which Alltel isn’t near me, it says please put in a valid zip code. Gimme a break. The family plans are expensive as hell. $84.99 is the starting price then $15 a piece for additional lines. Roaming charges???? Are you kidding me?? I gotta say though their single line plans are pretty good and competitive, but family share plans BLOOOOW like the wind.

I am curious, will vzw adopt any of the my circle plans when it acquires alltel? It would be nice to be able to get one.

so… nobody has a real answer to my question? are you all just pretending to know what you’re talking about?

@ GetOverIt AT&T and Verizon were desperate to get thier unlimited plans out before Sprint, remember they were the 1st to have one even if it was in limited markets with plans to make it national. Noone can be sure if the plan to make it national was leaked on purpose, if it was, bad idea

For those wondering about the divestitures, here’s the scoop:

Neither Verizon nor current Alltel customers will lose service or be canceled off. In order for Verizon to complete the acquisition, Verizon will have to sell some spectrum in those markets to another company so that they do not violate monopoly laws or overload the spectrum in the respective market. They could sell to another service provider like Sprint, at&t, or T-Mobile. They could also sell a fund of some sort. Additionally, the spectrum they sell could be from their current holdings or spectrum that they gain from Alltel. The goal is to end up with the best coverage area possible whilst still meeting the DOJ and FCC’s requirements. Customers from either carrier should not notice any negative change.

The bottom line is that Verizon is not completely exiting any of the areas mentioned, but the coverage may change (hopefully for the better).

For example, in Virginia, both Alltel and Verizon have fantastic coverage (with Alltel being arguably better in the country). In order to meet the Government’s requirements, Verizon will have to sell some spectrum. This will likely occur in the areas with significant overlap. Customers may experience intermittent issues during the change, but no current Verizon or Alltel customers will be shut off.

This is a great move but hopefully they can regulate the pricing. I think Sprint will be next on the chopping block for Verizon even though the FCC or DOJ might block it because then it would just be utterly unfair. I don’t think T-Mobile will go anywhere because it has a much larger parent company’s backing, i.e. T-Mobile Germany. So what will AT&T’s ads be now? And thanks for those who cleared up the divestitures issue. Highly appreciated.

Lol….”don’t know if thats safe for me, or other drivers around me, but hey we need to multi-task more these days.”

I’m a VZW store manager and I always try to explain to customers how hard it is to text on a touch screen while driving and at the same time I’m thinking in the back of my head, “I really should not be training these people on how to kill themselves in the car”…but I suppose it’s safer that I tell them that BEFORE they buy a touch screen, try to text in the car and get into an accident. Riiiiiight. That’s my subconscious telling me it’s ok

GO SPRINT!!!!!!!!!!!

We’ve got another Federal government cluster in your homes again. We should have the choice in a free economy to determine whom I purchase services. I don’t need another Federal invasion into our phone services. Throw the Feds out, please.