Unusable at Eagle Bend area of Bigfork, MT. Unusable at Somers, MT Unusable most of Lakeside, MT

Getting more and more droped calls. Not sure what is going on with Alltel. Service seems to be getting worse. It is somewhat better during offpeak times. Now, I am roaming on Verizon while at home. I just got a new phone from Verizon yesterday and its working much better

I've been with Alltel for 2 months after being with Verizon for 4 years, and I've got to say that alltel, in my opinion, is a far better choice for service here. The coverage is better throughout the area. Far better especially indoors. I do quite a bit of traveling and I've never been without service. Overall, I would say I average a couple bars more than Verizon but there are some places I can now make a call with no problem that I was stuck on 0 bars with Verizon. The north part of town immediately comes to mind but it just seems better overall. I'm happy with the switch. The plan is far better. My Circle saves a ton of minutes. I was paying for 2200 with Verizon's family plan, but now we can get by with 900 + my circle so I'm saving about $50 a month. The store had a 15 minute wait when I went but I would recommend the switch to others simply because Alltel works better and costs less.

The reception itself was good, but being a traveler from Europe, it didn't let me roam anywhere. I could only get "emergency only" service.

No, Alltel isn't perfect but they sure beat Verizon! Alltel's coverage around Kalispell is far better inside buildings, and it extends way further west and north of town.

Get Alltel if you want to be able to use your phone in stores. Verizon doesn't work in Super 1, Costco, Wal-Mart, Shopko, K-Mart, Target, Home Depot, basicallly any store or larger building Verizon won't work in, but Alltel does. Alltel is also improving customer service.

need some competition in montana to heat things up. Coverage is sad around here. just not like other more populated areas. Can't even get reception in the shopping areas up here, which hundreds of people pass through these stores everyday. My phone will get 1 or 2 bars, then go into analog, then it will go into roaming then analog then 1 or 2 bars of digital, it's NOT RELIABLE. Come on guys, we need Cingular, T-Mobile, or even Sprint to come in here, so there is a little more competition, maybe it would scare Alltel and Verizon into putting up more towers so they wouldn't lose customers in this area

Just moved to Alltel. This isn't Western Wireless Corporation for sure (CellularONE here). March 13th Alltel took over completely so "come and get your love." That's the cheesiest marketing slogan ever, but Alltel's coverage blows away Verizon, the people are very friendly, and the customer service (which I've called twice on mine and twice regarding my grandma's prepaid) is fantastic. It's got some downsides, but overall it's great. Absolutely - Verizon's better along Helena Flats Rd as one noted - they've got a tower at Rose Crossing and Trumble Creek Dr. Overall, Alltel's much better though. Better RAZR phone than Verizon's too - more features since it's not limited by Verizon's custom software and Bluetooth restrictions. The "average" is for the worst part of town for anyone - the new construction north of town. Verizon's terrible up there - despite their store being there. Alltel's OK. I get good Alltel service with my RAZR in Borders (the worst of these buildings), but I know for many it's no service or useless - get a good phone like the RAZR for Kalispell! Hopefully Alltel being in town they'll fill things in a little better, but I'd take it over the evil big red V any day :)

Cellularone... or should I say Alltel now that they have merged, suck in Evergreen area, such as Whitebirch and helena flats road. Both my family and I all get dropped calls in the house, we try to run outside and talk, but the phones still drop calls outside too. Don't know what is going on with Alltel, but they are going down the drain in the Evergreen / Kalispell area. Also to note is their customer service is horrid. I have had problem after problem with their customer service. I recommend going with Verizon Wireless if you want good customer service, good phones. and good national coverage.

As of Monday, March 28th, AT&T's 3G network is live in the Kalispell area. This is an overlay of the Alltel CDMA network AT&T purchased last year, and so far coverage seems to be almost identical - which is to say, excellent. This new network is 3G / UMTS only. If you have an older phone that doesn't support 3G, or if you switch off 3G on your phone, you will continue to get terrible AT&T coverage in Montana.

I moved here from the midwest and although Cingular is not a provider here, I get dependable service in 95% of the places in the county. There are few places that I am lacking coverage, my biggest problem is that the networks here are overwhelmed and I get busy signals occasionally. Also, it is my understanding that reception inside of buildings can depend on the type of phone you are using. As a side note, Verizon recently was granted approval for the installation of a new cell tower south of Kalispell on Lower Valley Rd.

Just Roaming the whole time. Very Expensive calls. Was watching a Nextel phone as well and the comments about reception coming and going while the phone sat on the table are true for this area too.

Not amazing but my phone works almost everywhere.... sometimes spotty outside of town

I started with cellular one back when they were blackfoot. I've been with them thru three name changes and tons of issues. as of right now I'm seriously considering switching to some other company. The customer service is nice but they don't have much tech know how. For the past three months I've not been able to get picture texts or video texts. When I call customer service I get a bunch of excuses and promises to call me back.

I just switched to Cellular One (formerly Chinook) from Alltel (formerly Cellular One but totally unrelated.. Cellular One is a franchised name). I switched for reasons unrelated to reception, in general nobody beats Alltel's reception in Kalispell, MT. The one place Cellular One beats them I have found to be in Somers, Cellular One blows Alltel / Verizon out of the water. As a general rule though, the coverage density on Cellular One is VERY good, especially considering that it is a 1900MHz GSM network. There is no coverage in Libby, Eureka, Hungry Horse, or West Glacier (though Hungry Horse and W. Glacier are supposed to be covered sooner rather than later... we'll see. Cellular One isn't licensed in Libby). I'm quite impressed with the pricing and value that Cellular One is offering. The network reliability could use some improvement - for example, text messaging was down last Friday night. But Alltel and Verizon have major reliability issues of their own around here. Cellular One's greatest asset right now is their customer service. They promise customer service that will "knock your socks off" and they deliver - no voice menu nonsense or anything. Just a reasonably knowledgeable person on the line quickly! Add service in Hungry Horse and I'll be a very happy camper! Additionally, they plan to cover highway 83 through the Swan Lake area - presently a dead spot for all carriers. This will be a *huge* benefit to public safety and simply cannot happen soon enough!

Cellularone is rude rude nasty. They have aweful customer service. They are rude to their customers and have no respect for anyone definitally go with Verizon if you want to be treated like a human and not a mop bucket

Great reception throughout the whole state of montana lots better than Verizon I have full strenth while my friends with Verizon have no service I recomend cellularone if you live in montana

No coverage whatsoever. I vacation here occasionally and I get nothing east of Coeur d'Alene and all throughout the flathead valley. This is confirmed on the Nextel website. Sprint may have better coverage, but my phone is dedicated Nextel.

Was there from Michigan on a national plan, had good digital two-way and phone use to MI in Kalispell city limits.

Whatever you do dont sign up with aritel montana. This is the worst cell reception / service I have ever seen. I live about one mile from one of there towers and still cant get reception not to mention countless call droping. There customer service is not the best either. I should have stayed with verizon. They have the best cell reciption in my opinion in the valley and there cosumer service is better than most..