Prepaid Reviews Blog » Alltel

Alltel sued for content billing

Joe — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:45:56 +0000

It was barely a month ago that AT&T settled a suit over content billing. Now Alltel is falling under fire, though the specific details of the suit are not immediately available. All we know is that the case is over Alltel “systematically, repeatedly and without authorization, billing its customers for purchases and services not agreed to by those customers.” This makes it sound very much like the AT&T case.

In that case, AT&T was being sued for the actions of third parties. Ever see those sites that offer “free ringtones”? They’re usually at a “.blogspot.com” address. Well, they’re not free at all. Once you download the ringtone, you are automatically enrolled in a recurring monthly subscription program, billed through your carrier. So unless you’re meticulously checking your bill, it’s a charge that easily flies under the radar.

James Quintana Pearce, author of the linked story, notes: “Nevertheless, if telcos are held responsible for the actions of third party vendors and the failure of people to read the fine print a fine line will have to be walked.”

I believe it’s more an issue of which third parties the telcos allow to direct-bill. It seems that a process of vetting these third parties is warranted. That way, shady ringtone companies, which don’t disclose their terms, nor let you know that you’re even signing up for a service, won’t be able to bill directly to the customer’s wireless bill.

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Alltel sued for content billing

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Alltel sued for content billing

Rumored: Alltel outage in Minnesota

Joe — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 13:30:06 +0000

I neither live in Minnesota nor have Alltel, so I have no way to verify this. It appears, though, that Alltel’s network has been out in Minnesota for quite some time. You can still send and receive text messages, and even receive calls. The problem, apparently, is outgoing calls. A couple of people wrote into Consumerist to describe and verify the problem. The mainstream media has yet to pick up on this, which is strange, because they seem to love reporting outages. So I’m not quite sure how widespread this is.

The information, fourth-hand by the time you’re reading it here, originates with customer service. So unless we”re getting some telephone effects, this one has teeth. Once I see it somewhere else, I’ll update the post.

[Consumerist]

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Rumored: Alltel outage in Minnesota

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Rumored: Alltel outage in Minnesota

Alltel free to continue showing ads

Stuart — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 15:00:34 +0000

As we learned last week, Verizon sued Alltel for false advertising. It was over one of those My Circle advertisements, where the Big Four carriers are depicted as nerdlings, while the Alltel dude is buff and manly and stuff. Apparently, in one of the commercials, they not-so-subtly imply that in order to change your rate plan mid-contract with Verizon, you have to extend your contract. Not so, or at least not so since October of 2007. Verizon sued over this matter, but a U.S. District Judge in Richmond, Va. denied the matter.

Honestly, I can’t understand this. Alltel falsely represented Verizon in said commercial. No one at the office has seen the commercial recently, so we can’t vouch for Alltel reps who say that it has been edited for accuracy.

To me, this illustrates what’s wrong with advertising. In order to make a buck, people will go to great lengths, even if it means misrepresenting their opponent. Sure, that might be a sound strategy, but if you’re caught, you should have to pay a penalty. Alltel was sneaky enough to keep that ad around even after Verizon changed its policy, yet no action is being taken against them.

It’s sometimes tough to champion the cause of a superpower like Verizon. But in these instances, the little guys are dealing cheap shots and getting away with it. Then again, do you know anyone who was swayed by this line of Alltel ads? Heck, I live in the Northeast, and you can’t even get Alltel around here! Yet, we see ads for them all the time.

Maybe that’s the issue. That so few people were actually affected by this that it didn’t really matter. So on one hand you can pat Alltel on the back for being David and dealing an underhanded blow to Goliath. But on the other hand, you can say, “Hey, Goliath might be bad in some regards, but not in those regards. Buzz off, David.”

[RCR Wireless News]

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Alltel free to continue showing ads

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Alltel free to continue showing ads

Verizon hits Alltel with false advertising suit

Joe — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:30:16 +0000

My first instinct was to place this at our postpaid sister site, but since I already covered a false-advertising-related issue earlier today, I figured why not talk about it here. You know those Alltel “MyCircle” commercials? The ones where the Alltel rep is a blonde playboy, and his competitors — the Big Four — are nerdy underlings. Apparently, there’s a commercial where the Verizon nerd says something about having to extend your contract when changing calling plans. As we learned earlier this year, that is no longer the case.

“Whatever merit this comparison may have to other carriers, in the case of Verizon Wireless, the supposed ‘advantage’ is pure fiction,” Verizon, based in Basking Ridge, N.J., alleged in the complaint.

We can’t blame Verizon here. The entire premise of the commercial is that the Verizon nerd is trying to get customers to stay with the company, even though Alltel allows you to change your plan mid-contract without penalty. So it makes sense that Verizon is upset, since they offer the same service.

[The News Tribune]

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Verizon hits Alltel with false advertising suit

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Verizon hits Alltel with false advertising suit

Alltel getting serious about parental control

Joe — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 15:45:36 +0000

We’re not parents, so pardon us if we don’t agree with many parental views that they should know where their children are at all times. Yes, we’re talking about location tracking, a service that Alltel has just launched. Once parents equip their children with the LG AX8600, the Samsung U520, or the Samsung R510 ‘Wafer’, they’ll be able to see every place their child visits, right from their own mobile phone or even from their home computer. No, we’re not big fans of this.

We understand that parents embrace this kind of technology because it ensures that they can locate their child should an emergency arise. However, we don’t see it being used for such a purpose. After all, emergencies don’t happen to everyone every day. The main purpose of this application, of course, is to find out if your child is causing mischief.

But kids should cause mischief — it’s part of growing up. To us, this is just another step towards Orwellian overseeing. Don’t believe us? Check it:

The service will also allow parents to interact with the maps, designating specific areas that their child frequents, such as school or the local shopping mall.

See? It’s more spying than for-emergency-only usage. And that’s just wrong.

But if you must have it, it’s $9.99 per month, and can be found at MobileBurn]

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Alltel getting serious about parental control

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Alltel getting serious about parental control

Alltel teams with law enforcement and public safety

Joe — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 14:35:29 +0000

So Alltel had a big announcement yesterday, though we’re not quite sure how it ties into mobile phones. They mention twice in the press release that they’re America’s largest cellular network. But we see no mention of integrating this new application into their phones. It’s called HazMasterG3, and as you can probably glean from the name, it helps identify various hazardous materials. This is intended for law enforcement and public safety officials.

HazMasterG3Â®, a fast and easy decision support system, provides details on over 118,000 chemical, biological and radiological agents, trade names and explosives. The application also provides support capabilities for the quickly changing role of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) in law enforcement, both civilian and military. HazMasterG3Â® has earned certification from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as an Approved Product for Homeland Security and is designated as a Qualified Anti-Terrorism Technology (QATT).

“Alltel Wireless recognizes the role that a wireless device can play in assisting public safety agencies across the country,” said Dave Maddox, director of advanced data solutions for Alltel Wireless. “We are proud to offer HazMasterG3Â® on select phones, as it has the potential to not only help law enforcement and emergency responders identify threats, but the application can also provide details needed to help save lives.”

Additionally, the application’s capabilities include advanced tools for bomb technicians and Tier 2 pre-plan support for over 60,000 facilities nationwide for fire, HAZMAT and USAR needs. HazMasterG3Â® also provides modeling for precursor outcomes, chemical reactions and advanced agent-identification capabilities for a broad range of unknown threats â€“ a key factor for terrorism response.

So as you can see, the application is quite nifty and helpful. However, we’re not quite sure how it integrates into mobile phones. Maybe it doesn’t, and the mention of Alltel’s involvement in mobile phones is just incidental.

[Business Wire]

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Alltel teams with law enforcement and public safety

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Alltel teams with law enforcement and public safety

Alltel to participate in spectrum auction

Joe — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 15:00:46 +0000

It seems that TPG Capital and GS Capital Partners, the companies that bought Alltel earlier this year, have some brains behind their piles of money. Instead of going in and messing with what was working, the newly-annoited bosses of the company (though the deal still won’t close for two weeks, give or take) are maintaining the status quo. Management will almost all stay in place, though with a bit of role reassigning. Oh yeah, and they’ll be bidders in the 700 MHz spectrum auction.

“We currently intend to participate in Auction 73; however, there can be no assurance that we will obtain any licenses in Auction 73,” the Alltel filing states.

Damn. Now they’re calling it Auction 73? That’s so much easier to type than 700 MHz spectrum auction. Maybe we’ll try to slip it in casually, so you won’t notice the transition.

Alltel disclosed that it has $750 million available to purchase or acquire licenses and rights in the auction. The company also will have approximately $1.5 billion of borrowing capacity available after going private, it said.

The $750 million would indicate that Alltel would go for one of the smaller licenses. The $1.5 billion mention, though, is basically saying, “yeah, we have $750 million, but we can go higher and compete with the big boys if we need to.” We’d like to see that, because maybe it would mean getting Alltel in the Northeast.

In poor Alltel news, they seemingly had a problem with daylight savings time ending. Guess it can’t all be good.

[Arkansas News Bureau]

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Alltel to participate in spectrum auction

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Alltel to participate in spectrum auction

Alltel picks up pace in third quarter

Joe — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:00:06 +0000

It was a good quarter to be Alltel. In their report released on Friday, the carrier said it had added a net 205,000 subscribers in the quarter, shattering most analysts’ forecasts. Alltel is also happy announce, though we’re a bit saddened by it, that they lost 8,000 prepaid customers. Why are they happy at this? Because that means they added 213,000 postpaid customers. You know, the ones who are under service agreements. That means guaranteed money for Alltel, and we all know that carriers value that far greater than their prepaid counterparts.

Profit also shot up for Alltel, rising 51 percent from last year. It appears that Goldman Sachs is very pleased with its recent purchase of the company. Word on the street is that they’re looking to take it out of the public sector before the end of the year. How this will affect business we’re not sure.

The prepaid news, as we said, saddens us. We’re huge fans of Alltel’s pay-per-day feature. For 75 cents a day you get unlimited text messaging and unlimited nights and weekends. And then calls are just 10 cents a minute. If you can avoid talking during peak hours, this works out very well, and you can probably do it for under $30 per month.

But from a business standpoint, it makes sense for Alltel to concentrate on its postpaid service, which generate more income. The spill over from prepaid, they say, went to Tracfone mostly, who added 227,000 prepaid customers during the quarter. The 213,000 headed Alltel’s way came from many places, Sprint being the foremost. The nation’s No. 3 carrier is expected to announce a loss of customers during the third quarter

[Reuters]

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Alltel picks up pace in third quarter

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Alltel picks up pace in third quarter

Alltel launches MOTORKR Z26m

Stuart — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 16:00:20 +0000

We used to love it when new phones were released. Believe it or not, there was a time when a new phone, you know, differentiated itself from its competitors. Like when the RAZR came out. Man, there was so much hype behind that, and it really wasn’t matched until the iPhone. Anyway, Alltel is releasing the MOTORKR Z26m, a phone that looks a lot like other phones on the market. Yes, it’s a slider, which is a nice break from flip phones. The only difference, as we see it, is enhanced music capabilities, including built-in XM Radio.

Other than that, you’re looking at the standard features: GPS, Bluetooth, 2 MP camera, microSD slot, and a USB cord. The music player supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, and WMA files, so you’re set whether you’re a Mac or PC user.

Yes, the device looks pretty. And if that’s your motivation to buy a phone, then go for the MOTORKR. The only other reason we can see to buy it is if you enjoy using one device for your calling and headbanging needs. Other than that, it’s pretty ordinary.

Yes yes, the price. It’s $129.99 with a two-year contract. Hmph. As you all know, we’re not keen on that. The retail price is $329.99, and the two-year deal seemingly gives you two $100 rebates — instant savings and a mail-in. If you can merely snag the mail-in, $229.99 isn’t a terrible price, considering normal prepaid phone prices.

[Gadgetell]

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Alltel launches MOTORKR Z26m

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Alltel launches MOTORKR Z26m

Alltel makes move with WiFi acquisition

Stuart — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 16:00:03 +0000

Okay, so we were a bit critical of Alltel’s deal with Boingo, which provided the cell carrier with WiFi services. If they don’t have WiFi phones, we asked, why would they do this? Well, they answered us today. They’re now bundling their WiFi and EV-DO internet services to provide more complete broadband coverage to their subscribers. Not through their phones, though, but through their laptops. And what is a laptop if not an enormous smart phone? (Just kidding.)

They say that you can get the WiFi access for as low as $9.99 per month in addition to your already existing wireless Internet plan. Without an Internet plan, you can get the WiFi access for $21.99 per month. If you’re not seeking a subscription, prepaid WiFi cards are available for $9.99 per day and $19.99 per week. That, our friends, is a huge rip-off.

“Wi-Fi is an excellent complement to Alltel’s existing portfolio of wireless internet solutions and is a good fit with Alltel’s strategy to provide customers with more ways to connect wirelessly to the Internet, email, or corporate intranet,” said David Maddox, director of product marketing for Alltel Wireless. “Alltel customers will get the best available wireless broadband connection throughout the country with EVDO and Wi-Fi from Alltel.”

It makes sense, we suppose, to offer this upgraded service to Alltel subscribers. They say there are “thousands” of hotspots nationwide, so many business users can take advantage of them. The only advantage, though, over their EV-DO is speed. We dunno…it seems more frugal to sacrifice the speed you’ll sometimes get with WiFi and just go with the EV-DO.

[Broadband Wireless Exchange Magazine]

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Alltel makes move with WiFi acquisition

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Alltel makes move with WiFi acquisition