I unfortunately am stuck with Alltel because they are the only ones that have decent reception in some of the areas I work, but if you can get a provider with as strong a signal as them, DO IT. They will nickel and dime you to death. The "Axcess Shop" is nothing more than a sham -- they make it so that nobody can write any software for phones through their service without wrapping it in their proprietary security software so that they can "rent" it to you for $5 a month. Manufacturers make these phones with methods of connecting to your computer to transfer pictures or music -- Alltel makes them remove that functionality so that they can charge you extra to transfer them. THEY ARE ESSENTIALLY HOLDING YOUR PHONE'S FUNCTIONALITY HOSTAGE. I bought a Kyocera KX-12 but the only function that will work with the computer is the contacts transfer simply because Alltel didn't want me transferring my pictures to my phone instead of paying them $2.00 to send a 25k generic wallpaper image over. Tried using the Webshots software to transfer them to my phone, but the software on the phone is $4/mo and if you stop paying for the software then it also deletes the pictures that you have already transferred with it. So the bottom line is to put a picture of my dog on my wallpaper (which is really part of the phone's basic capabilities) I have to pay $4/mo as long as I want it on there. On top of that, your phone selection is limited because Alltel controls which phones can connect to its network so that they can once again nickel and fime you. You can't just go out and buy an unlocked phone on eBay or through a store, you have to buy it directly from Alltel which means that if you don't like any of their limited selection you are up the creek. (Good luck using a 2-way radio capable phone unless you like the KX-12.) I eagerly await the day that another company puts a good tower in my area so that I can vote with my wallet.