Verizon completes Alltel acquisition, now covers 83.7 million customers as nation's largest wireless network
By Paul Miller 
posted Jan 9th 2009 10:49AM
posted Jan 9th 2009 10:49AM
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83.7 customers, huh? And almost a whole thirteen of them came from Alltel. I'd say that was worth the billions of dollars.
83.7 customers eh?
And why isn't it a whole number? Are some missing heads, limbs, or other body parts? :P
boo!
Does this mean that we've finally seen the end of Alltel's stupid "Chad" commercials?
I did notice the Verizon Geek not talking so much anymore...who knows, they could do Chad/Verizon Geek Commercials.
He needs to have the same fate as that "Dude your gettin a Dell guy."
Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find out the Verizon guy and Chad were always in some sort of estranged love affair, and really just used the merger as a reason to be together forever.
Or somesuch.
I think the new commercial should show the Verizon guy getting fed up with Chad's silly promotions . Verizon guy lunges away from the other three guys, raising his fist in the air - a la Braveheart - tackles Chad and sends paperwork flying through the air. The next scene is the Verizon guy handing Chad a case full of money and walking away with a big grin. Outside you see the entire Verizon group cheering and the signature guy says "Come and get our love."
Everyone PLEASE Low Rank me because I like the Chad Commercials. :p I just like Goofy Stuff. :p
I'm all for the NEW Chad
Does this also mean more coverage for verizon/alltel customers?
sure for an extra charge
It's a trap.
Om.Nom.Nom.Nom. mmmm customers.
Can't believe I forgot this one.
All your customers are belong to us.
They now have a customer base of 2.5x the population of Canada (33.2mil).. sick
Let's hope that's enough to save them from going the same way!
Any talk on who will buy the Alltel market/properties that verizon has to sell?
I heard that AT&T will be buying all the Alltel markets in Vermont. I can't speak for others Verizon has to sell.
iPhone to land in Vermont
i hear that US Cellular is buying some in Georgia
Does this mean I can finally receive picture messages in Oklahoma City on my Verizon phone? Next week? Next month? Next year? Please?
err... You can receive picture messages on your phone if it's capable and if you have a messaging bundle, now, always. Even from AT&T/T-Mo customers.
http://support.vzw.com/faqs/Picture%20Messaging/faq_pixplace.html#item7
Sorry for the double post, blame the hangover.
What will happen to the roaming agreements with Sprint?
In one of the many obstacles that Verizon had to overcome (FCC, etc..), one of the agreements is that Verizon had to honor all roaming contracts that Alltel had for at least 2-3 (iirc) years.
I am wondering this too, Sprint and Alltel do not have EV-DO where I live, but VZW does. I hope this means I can roam on the VZW EV-DO network now.
Chad will be the new "Can you hear me now?" guy
Or we find out he is the guy on the other end of the line.
Chad will be the "yup" on the other end of "Can you here me now"
err... You can receive picture messages on your phone if it's capable and if you have a messaging bundle, now, always. Even from AT&T/T-Mo customers.
http://support.vzw.com/faqs/Picture%20Messaging/faq_pixplace.html#item7
I think you missed what he was asking. Currently Verizon customers in certain areas are on "extended network" using Alltel towers. Those customers only can use text and voice services and very few other data services (web 2.0, picture messaging, etc). Dustin wants to know when these areas will be part of the "regular Verizon network". I'm also interested to see if Verizon now becomes a sponsor of Kansas State University football, since Alltel has been for the past 6 years or so.
Come and get your love.
That's what she said.
The commercial should go down as such:
Chad is talking up "My Circle" as usual. Outside you notice a large gathering of people. Of this crowd one man walks in. It's the Verizon guy, of course, the posse outside is the network. He walk directly up to Chad with a large check in his hands. Disregarding the customers that Chad is speaking with, he hands Chad the large check. He then says, "Can you here me now?"
e_t
So when will VZW and Alltel customers be able to 'in-call' each other?
once they get a new contract, the its the circle or in, one or the other.
They're already working on that. Mobile2mobile between the two should happen in about 4 months. MyCircle lasts until the end of the contract or presumably until I try to change my contract. They've been doing 'maintenance' on my account this week and its been dropping internet and text mails like crazy. I hope its not a prediction of live with Verizon.
I'd like to meet that .7 customer, 'cause he's probably suffered a terrible accident, but is still able to use his mobile.
I'm getting tired of waiting - when are they going to take over Sprint? I'm hoping they give Hess a golden shower instead of a golden handshake as they toss his butt out the door for plunging the company into ruins.
There waiting for Sprint to go completely broke then pick them up for 1/20 of the price
Dan Hesse is not the one that screwed Sprint up, it was the previous CEO who approved the Nextel takeover. Sprint will bounce back though, I know a lot of people who currently have Alltel and will switch to Sprint because a hatred of VZW. I currently have the opportunity to take advantage of a VZW employee plan due to family working there. Even with the savings it would not be worth it.
I've been with Sprint for a very long time. All carriers suck in one way or another - had all of them. The previous exec Gary Foreskin was no great leader as you said and I really thought he was bad but now I long for the happy days of yesteryear when he was in charge! Sprint cell coverage is great in almost all parts of the country I've been to. On the other hand, Sprint customer service is bad, their cell phones are never tested properly before release and just getting your new phone provisioned/activated properly is a nightmare but at least with him at the helm we got really good discounts to make up for that. We still have all those crappy issues but without any discounts to give you an incentive to stay. With Rudolf Hess at the helm however he's not only killing all discounts, he's alienated so many customers they are dropping like flies - believe it or not in much larger masses than with any previous exec which is impressive because as customers decline, that means not only are the number leaving increasing but proportionally they are increasing in exodus far more! Which is impressive since every other carrier just keeps having their numbers increase - such as alltel :)
I will have to disagree with you regarding customer service, Since Hesse has taken over customer service has improved drastically. Before he took over I would have billing issues monthly, being overbilled anywhere from $200-$300 per month, and it would then take hours to resolve it. This was by going through Ecare and retentions. Now I rarely have issues with anything, other than implimentation of EV-DO where I live, also, when there are billing issues they are resolved by one quick email or phone call. I have been with Sprint for 9 years now and am currently happy with where things seem to be heading.
Scrotum,
Regarding billing issues I would have to disagree - not only do I have SPrint for myself, many of my clients have it and they actually pay me to take care of Sprint billing issues as they find it too time consuming, frustrating and difficult to deal with. I'm still making good money fixing Sprint billing issues.
My girlfriend had Sprint years ago and every month for no good reason whatsoever her bill would be 2-300 dollars when her plan was for either 40 or 60 (can't remember) and she barely ever talked on the phone. It was a nightmare. If I remember I think she just cut her losses and paid the early termination fee because they were just going to get that much money from her next month anyway.
Can we get a new logo or atleast drop the checkmark
WIZARD!
@boe
Then I must have just gotten lucky that I no longer have those issues, and the ones I do have are being resolved quickly. I know that there are still a lot of improvements to be made, but I like the direction that Hesse is taking things right now. Also, I live in an area where GSM service really sucks everytime I go out, or have a friend with AT&T or T-Mobile come over to my house they are having dropped calls, have to go outside to talk, or ask to use my phone for their calls. Because of this GSM is not an option for me and with VZW being the only other CDMA network in town now I know I will be with Sprint for several years to come.
Can you hear me now? Nope? Guess that's why I had to switch back to US Cellular. At least Verizon had a 30 day satisfaction guarantee.
Does this mean now they own most of the United States?
That many customer and apple still won't let them sell the iphone...
Dude, the iPhone was first offered to VZW....VZW said no.