Thousands of Alltel customers in Nevada, California, Alabama and Virginia will be converted to AT&T's service on Sunday.
Nearly 150,000 customers will see their Alltel service switch to AT&T on Nov. 21 as the carrier makes the final steps in its acquisition of the markets, which Verizon Wireless was forced to divest as part of its 2009 purchase of Alltel.
Postpaid customers affected by the change will receive a new AT&T cell phone for free. The carrier says most of those customers will be able to keep their existing rate plans without having to extend their contracts.
AT&T says it has "invested significantly" to transition the former Alltel network infrastructure to its own network. The carrier is also rebranding some former Alltel retail locations.
AT&T paid $2.35 billion for Alltel assets in rural areas of 18 states in its deal with Verizon in June. The carrier said at the time it would convert the markets to its own service over the 12 months following the purchase. The change in service for the four states marks the first transition to AT&T service for customers affected by the deal.