iPhone for former Alltel customers

[Ryan McGinnis]

Just an FYI -- I visited my local Verizon store today (a real brick and mortar Verizon store, not an affiliate) and was told that "As long as your current grandfathered Alltel plan is provisioned for Smartphone use, you can keep your old Alltel plan and get an iPhone." If I want the discount on the phone, I need to sign a new 2 year contract, but that contract will lock in my old Alltel rates -- i.e., I don't need to go on a Verizon pricing plan.

He tells me the tethering that I'm currently paying for will go away, but I think he's saying that because the iPhone doesn't tether without a specific Verizon app that you can only get via a Verizon plan. At least, that's the case if you don't jailbreak the phone -- which I plan to do. Once you jailbreak, you can tether to your heart's content.

All in all this will save me around $40 to $50 a month over what I would have paid for a Verizon plan.

If you have an Alltel plan but it doesn't include a smartphone provision (you pay extra for this), then I believe you must switch over to Verizon to get any kind of smartphone.

 

[Jason Foster]

I forgot if it was Leo Laporte or Scott Osborne (or someone else I follow on twitter) but they said a Verizon iPhone retails (what you pay w/out contracts) for $750+/-. That crazy if true. Would you have to pay for the phone at retail price for this grandfathering to occur?

 

[Ryan McGinnis]

I forgot if it was Leo Laporte or Scott Osborne (or someone else I follow on twitter) but they said a Verizon iPhone retails (what you pay w/out contracts) for $750+/-. That crazy if true. Would you have to pay for the phone at retail price for this grandfathering to occur?

Yep, that's the retail price, though if I sign a two year contract (locking in my current Alltel plan for another two years) then I get the discounted price.

 

[Rob Herman]

How do you know if you have the smart phone provision? I have a Motorola E815m phone that does have Internet access and does tether.

 

[Ryan McGinnis]

Got my iPhone today -- apparently I was a little bit wrong. You can keep your grandfathered Alltel plan -- ANY grandfathered Alltel plan. You don't need to have a smartphone provision. If you have an existing Alltel plan you can simply add the $30 extra for iPhone data to your current plan. This is an astounding deal. You get the discounted price on the phone, too, so long as you re-up your contract.