Alltel Coverage the Same as Sprint?

I visited a Sam's Club store today, and was told that Alltel's coverage areas are the same as Sprint, only in some cases not as extensive. The rep there sold both plans, but said in regards to coverage Alltel could offer nothing that Sprint didn't offer as well.

Is this comment accurate? I've always heard Alltel is one of the best providers here in West Virginia.

Thanks,
CS

Hi! I'm not sure but maybe this is the reason why my 2 daughters have signal bars at their school (in a very rural area) & their phones work fine! I'm in a rural part of N.C & even though this town has 2 cell towers, Alltel has turned out to be a excellent provider for this area. I get 5 bars 95% of the time, just like I do on my Virgin Mobile phone. I would believe they have the same coverage area as Sprint as wel

My brother loves them, and if they were offered in IL, I may have them too.

Check out the Wiki entry on Alltel's roaming and network partnerships:

Alltel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I can't say anything about West Virginia but Sprint has very little coverage in the rural areas of Central Ohio. My dad was carrying a Sprint phone and could not get signal until he got closer to town or an interstate. We got him an Alltel phone and we have no problems reaching him out in the sticks where he lives. That is a pretty broad statement saying they are everywhere Alltel is. Best bet is to look at the coverage maps for your areas and compare.

Sprint and Alltel have a roaming agreement, common misconception by the sales guy to say "they are the same". IMO Alltel's coverage blows Sprint away in areas where Alltel acutally covers. Unless you need data I'd go with Alltel