Page Plus benefits from Verizon-Alltel meger

Page Plus Cellular has “recently expanded its coverage area.” It’s strange, because you don’t normally hear that from an MVNO. They’re subject to the parent network. That’s the whole idea, apparently. Page Plus now benefits from the combined networks of Verizon and Alltel, as one would have expected. The best part for their customers is that this eliminates roaming charges in the expanded coverage area. So what was once a roaming area on the Alltel network is now standard on the Verizon network, hence standard on Page Plus. What’s strangest about the release is the complete omission of the names Verizon and Alltel. It notes that the expanded coverage area is “due to a merger of unrelated carriers that was announced in June 2008 and finalized in January of this year.” So clearly Verizon-Alltel. I wonder why there was no mention of either company in the release. This only stands to benefit Page Plus. They now have coverage in the Central Plain states, which they’d been lacking before. Verizon apparently used Alltel areas in that region for roaming, which Page Plus previously charged for. Now that it’s Verizon’s network, it’s as standard as their old coverage area. This means not only can Page Plus customers travel through those areas, but now they can likely activate phones in those areas.]]>