Alltel Wireless, America’s largest network, announced Monday it will soon add more than 130 jobs at its customer-support center in Mankato.

Alltel will begin recruiting for customer support and supervisory positions at the call center in December. Training classes for those new positions will begin early next year.

Alltel purchased Midwest Wireless for nearly $1.1 billion in October 2006. The former Midwest Wireless call center in Mankato was renovated and re-opened as the Alltel Tech Support Center in September 2007.

Dan Lohr, executive vice president of customer support for Alltel Wireless, said the decision to add customer support personnel to the Mankato call center is directly related to the quality and work ethic of the area’s highly-skilled workforce. The expansion reflects the fact that Alltel is adding new subscribers and experiencing strong sales of its wireless data products and services, he said.

 “Alltel is experiencing robust growth by being able to offer a full range of wireless data products and services that customers have come to expect, including sending text messages and e-mails or downloading music and watching TV on their cell phones or laptops — at anytime and anywhere,” Lohr said in a news release.

Alltel presently employs more than 280 tech support personnel at the Mankato call center. Tech support representatives handle customer calls related to hardware and software issues. The new customer service personnel will focus on customer billing inquiries and other service support functions.

 The facility, at 2000 Technology Drive, includes a game room for employees and a mock Alltel retail store, which allows staff there to stay familiar with new products and services at local stores.

“Alltel is owner and operator of the nation’s largest wireless network and has nearly 14 million wireless customers,” according to an Alltel news release.