Some of these guys dont have a clue. Yes, Verizon is buying Alltel, to be completed by year end. I currently work for one of these companies, and have worked for the other in the past. Here's the deal: Jd Powers and Associates recently tested call quality for all the carriers, guess who got #1 in more parts of the U.S. than anyone? ALLTEL!!!, Yearly Verizon has been rated #1 or tied at # 1 for the best customer satisfaction in the country. Alltel covers more square miles of the US than any other carrier including a lot of rural markets that the mega companies dont have, 57 of these markets Verizon has zero!!! Alltel and Verizon have been partnered together with each other for many years as the original A side and B side carriers, with lots of roaming agreements over the years. Verizon has the largest EVDO (3G broadband) network in the US. So, its kind of a no brainer contrary to alot of the blogs I've read. If you take the largest voice coverage in the nation and the largest data coverage in the nation and add them together, what do you get? Great coverage!!!! And the largest mobile to mobile network in the country (previously bragging rights were advertised by At&t/Cingular) . Both of these companies already use a CDMA network which is already mostly compatible, the one GSM company purchased by Alltel will be converted to CDMA making for a much easier merger of systems. It is a win/win situation for customers.We all pay for cell phones and what we pay for, we expect to work everywhere, the merger will make that a huge reality. As for prices, all carriers start their plans at 39.99 on paper, however there are always cheaper plans that are hidden due to lack of profitability. But no one typically wants the 29.99 plans due to reduced minutes or coverage. If you need something that cheap then you dont need a phone at all or you need to get Alltels prepaid service, which truly is the best prepaid on the market with national coverage. Again, I am in the industry and have been for many years, Verizon is taking control because they NEED Alltel to give them ALL bragging rights, largest voice and data network,(ps for gsm carriers--a very low dropped call rate) , the largest mobile to mobile calling network (IN just got bigger), and the highest customer loyalty and customer satisfaction. As a consumer,what more could you ask for? ANY QUESTIONS??????????????????????????