Alltel Branching to Bentonville

Alltel Corp. is opening a new retail store July 1 on Walton Boulevard in Bentonville, says Mitch Johnson, vice president/general manager of western Arkansas.

The new location will offer Alltel’s wireless and paging services. All Northwest Arkansas offices will eventually provide Internet and long distance services similar to those provided in Little Rock.

“Bentonville is a growing area that fits into our layout of Fayetteville, Springdale and Rogers,” Johnson says. “We want to provide as many distribution points for our customers as we can.”

Mike Maroney, public relations director, says, within the next three months, Alltel’s on-line services should be operational for the region. In Little Rock, Alltel provides local access to the Internet in selected markets.

Maroney says Alltel Internet users will be provided unlimited access to the world wide web for one set monthly fee. While local phone numbers will be provided for users in Benton and Washington counties, he was unsure if the server for the system would be in Northwest Arkansas or Little Rock.

Alltel will implement its long-distance telephone service within the next three months. Maroney says Alltel will provide call waiting, call forwarding and several other options for all its wireless users but only the calling card option for its long-distance customers.

“We are really pushing to be Northwest Arkansas’ full-service provider,” Maroney says.