I'm not George, but I have Alltel in Upstate SC.  I'm satisfied with
the service.  I'm in Charlotte often, and it works well there, too.

VERY!  They, in the Carolinas, have excellent coverage.  I've been in
very few places without, and several of those are "real local" where
they have holes ... 221 between Spartanburg and NC is one.  Verizon
uses them in most of eastern NC/SC.  They have lower rates than
Verizon, it seems.   I'll be glad to discuss more details if you wish
... gbynum followed by that special symbol then att.net will get here.
Spam is now about 80% of my email, WITH ATT filtering.

"Trimodeman" ...

Hi, Tri-Mode:
For over ten years, I have had phones on each carrier, continuously.    I am
very pleased with Alltel. I get a strong signal almost everywhere I go, from
the Coast to the Mountains.

I just drove from Raleigh to Kannapolis to meet an old friend for some BBQ.
Sitting in the restaurant (Porky's in China Grove), VZW flickered between
one and no bars, and I actually missed an incoming call. The T720 on Alltel
had several bars. This is typical of what I find outside the "major" metro
areas.

As mentioned before in this NG, Alltel in the Carolinas currently has a plan
for $39.95 which gives 1,000 ANYTIME minutes, plus Free Long Distance from
NC/SC to anywhere in the country. And, for $10/month, you can add another
100 minutes of Total Freedom.  Use it anywhere in the USA. If you didn't
travel that month, you have an extra 100 minutes to use in the home area.
You have to ask for this feature. They don't advertise it (and I suspect it
will be phased out in the future unless you are  "grandfathered".)  Ditto
for the 1,000 minutes. The norm at this price is 800 minutes.  It's probably
a holiday promotion.

I like Verizon, also. Good phones, and great service.  I feel that my VZW
phone tries to hold on to an in-system tower too long, instead of switching
to the other carrier.  However, VZW is my primary business phone and it does
well.  I use a lot of digital features in an arc between Raleigh and
Charlotte, and getting E-Mail on I-85 at 70 MPH is a thrill. (grin)

Summary:  If you're locked into a contract with VZW, it's not the end of the
world.  If you simply MUST have solid communications (like me),  have a
phone on each carrier. (Around town, the K-6035 from VZW is on my belt and
the Alltel phone sits in the car.) Or, if your VZW phone has a connector
port, investigate the external antennas and adaptors available on the web.

The most painless method for comparing Alltel with your other carrier is to
activate an old phone, rather than getting a phone "free" and being stuck in
a contract. True, you'll pay an activation fee. But you can get out anytime
you wish. Or, if you find you like the service, you can agree to a contract
and get a new phone.

-Paul-
______________________________
By the way, Alltel will activate an analog-only
phone on the $39.95 plan (but you can't get the
optional Total Freedom minutes).  So, drag
that clunker out of the closet and give it a try.