With Kristi and I drawing to the end of our cell phone contract with Alltel, I am beginning to look at what other options are available to possibly switch from Alltel.  The 3 problems we face by switching providers are:

Friends and Family

Most of our friends and family have Alltel also.  This is nice because Alltel offers free cell-to-cell between Alltel customers.  So, we can talk for free to just about everyone we talk to on a regular basis and, therefore, never come close to going over our minutes, even with my various business ventures.

Service Great, Phones Suck

With “smart” phones like the iPhone and the G1 from Google being released every few months, it sucks that Alltel is usually the last carrier to get the things the cool kids are using.  But in the same breath, my phone has bars where many friends do not get service with carriers such as AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile.

Where I Live

I just found out that T-Mobile does not have high speed towers in Central Florida so if I got the G1 we would not have access to many of the advanced features.  Asside from that is the alternative of getting an iPhone.   They are probably the slickest of the bunch but the plans are over-priced and I swore I would never return to AT&T.  I am anxious to see what the new Blackberry looks like and if it solves my problems. (Note: This was written before it’s release)

*UPDATE*

Verizon and Alltel Merger

Now that Verizon and Alltel are joining forces, I think we’ll wait and see what they offer.  Last I heard, the merger will commence sometime during mid January.  I hope it doesn’t take as long as the AT&T/Cingular merger.