Alltel: New Wireless Internet Service Review

I ordered my new Alltel high speed wireless Internet card just two days ago. I received it today through UPS shipping, free of charge! The wireless card of course, was not free. The cost was $99.00 plus tax. Then the activation fee, an additional $25.00, for a total of $133.00 and some change. This amount will be billed to my Alltel account, so there was no upfront out of pocket expense. How convenient.

While ordering, the Alltel representative proved to be very knowledgeable when answering the questions that I had about this new product. Questions such as "What are the monthly service fees?, $59.95 per month for unlimited usage of Internet browsing. "Will service connection be available in my area?, with a few clicks on her computer, she assured me that it was. However, I was informed that if I should find it hard to connect to the Internet, this was a temporary problem, as this was a new service from Alltel and there are not that many towers that can provide access as yet, but give it time, Alltel will be adding new towers as quickly as possible and in the near future, my service will improve dramatically. It will just take a little time.

When I ordered the service; I was informed that I would be entering into a two year contract, however I was given a two week trial period in which I could try out the Alltel wireless Internet service, and if I was not completely satisfied, for any reason, I could return the wireless card, and the $99.00 fee that I had to pay for the wireless card, would be credited to my account.

The installation at first seemed pretty simple and straight forward, but proved to be more of a challenge than anticipated. I placed a call to Alltel technical support and was given the code and password information that was needed to set up my account, (which I did not have) and the technician stayed on the line and walked me through the installation, step by step and my wireless Internet service was up and running in a few short minutes.

Alltel claims that with their new high speed wireless Internet service, you will always be connected to the Internet wherever you travel, provided you are within their service area. I was assuming that if your Alltel phone had a signal and you were able to place a call, then you would have Internet access, so armed with my laptop, I took a little road trip to a few places that I frequently visit to test my Internet accessibility.

The first stop was a known "dead zone" as far as my Alltel phone service was concerned. I had lived in that area for many years, I have now relocated, but I return quite often to visit with my friends. While there on visits, in order to make a phone call I would have to go outside of the building and walk around in "search" for a signal in order to place my call. Imagine my surprise when I powered up my laptop and connected to the Internet with ease! The signal was weak, and this caused my computer to load very slowly, but I had service!

My next stop was the home of my Mother. She lives in a small community many miles from the city. The land that her home sits on is covered with towering trees, so my phone service has always been "iffy" at best when visiting with her. Again, I powered on my laptop and surprise, surprise, I had Internet access! Again it was extremely slow, due to poor signal quality but a connection none the less. We spent several hours, surfing through her favorite country music videos. It was a rare treat for her.

In the next two weeks, rest assured I will be taking full advantage of the Alltel two week trial period for my wireless Internet service, to make certain that it lives up to their claim, and my expectations as well. The monthly service fee is somewhat pricey, and I am not too happy about the two year commitment, but the service is well worth the price for the ease of Internet access it provides and also with the portability of taking the Internet with you wherever you go.