LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Alltel Corp. launched a new iteration of its prepaid phone service, dubbed “U.”
Users of the U prepaid service can pay by the minute, day or month. Pay-per-minute customers are charged 15 cents per minute for weekday, night, weekend and mobile-to-mobile calls. A new pay-per-day option charges customers a fee of 75 cents per day, plus 10 cents a minute for daytime use, but offers four options without additional charges: unlimited night and weekend calling, unlimited calls to a designated wireline or wireless “favorite number,” unlimited text messaging or unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling. Customers can add additional unlimited options from the list if they’re willing to pay an extra 25 cents per day. Frank O’Mara, executive vice president of marketing for Alltel, touted the service as “flexible, hip [and] user-friendly.”
The pay-per-month plans include:
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- 200 weekday minutes and 1,000 night and weekend minutes for $30 per month, with additional minutes at 35 cents per minute; no mobile-to-mobile included.
- 400 weekday minutes and 2,000 night and weekend minutes for $40 a month, with additional minutes charged at the 35 cent rate; no mobile-to-mobile included.
- 700 weekday minutes and unlimited night, weekend and mobile-to-mobile calls for $70 a month, with additional minutes for 10 cents each.
For every 30-day period the user is charged a $4 access fee, which can be waived by using at least one minute of service. U prepaid also requires a $35 activation fee and a minimum initial balance of $20; it allows free roaming and long distance within Alltel’s network.
Alltel also continues to offers its Simple Freedom prepaid plans through retailers such as Wal-Mart, with calling rates at 25 cents per minute.