Also read the tons of other threads regarding the compatibility issues. Alltel is CDMA, is it not? As of course are Sprint and Verizon. So even unlocked, neither first nor second generation iPhone will ever work with those networks. The first gen iPhone is essentially completely compatible with T-Mobile, but the second gen iPhone cannot use the T-Mobile USA 3G network. So really, even if it were unlocked, it wouldn't help you much. As for whether Apple will actually actively court multiple carriers (e.g. in the US, by releasing a CDMA iPhone and/or releasing a 3G that works on the band that T-Mobile uses), ... as said above, it's almost certainly not happening soon.