<PAGE>

                                                    Registration No.333-________

   As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 24, 1999.


                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                            Washington, D.C. 20549
                   ________________________________________

                                   FORM S-8
                         REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER
                          THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                             COMMNET CELLULAR INC.
                             ---------------------
            (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

          Colorado                                        84-0924904
          --------                                        ----------
     (State or other juris-                            (I.R.S. Employer
     diction of incorporation                          Identification No.)
         or organization)

                     8350 East Crescent Parkway, Suite 400
                           Englewood, Colorado 80111
                           -------------------------
         (Address, including zip code of Principal Executive Offices)

               COMMNET CELLULAR INC. DIRECTOR COMPENSATION PLAN
               ------------------------------------------------
                           (Full Title of the Plan)

                              James Everson, Esq.
                      Vice President and General Counsel
                             CommNet Cellular Inc.
                     8350 East Crescent Parkway, Suite 400
                           Englewood, Colorado 80111
                                (303) 694-3234
                                ---------------
                     (Name, address and telephone number,
                  including area code, of agent for service)

                              __________________

                        CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
========================================================================================================
Title of each class of     Amount to be       Proposed maximum       Proposed maximum        Amount of
 securities to be           registered       offering price per     aggregate offering     registration
 registered                                         Share                  price              Fee
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                        <C>               <C>                    <C>                    <C>
Common Stock, $.001            9,000               $30.844*              $277,594*              $78
par value per share
========================================================================================================
</TABLE>

__________________________

*    Estimated, pursuant to Rule 457(c), solely for the purpose of calculating
the registration fee based on the average of the high and low selling prices
reported on the Nasdaq National Market on August 17, 1999.
<PAGE>

                                    PART II
              INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3.  Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

          The following documents which have been filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
(the "Exchange Act"), are hereby incorporated by reference in this Registration
Statement:

          (1) the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended September 30, 1998, filed December 29, 1998;

          (2) the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal
quarter ended December 31, 1998, filed on February 12, 1999;

          (3) the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal
quarter ended March 31, 1999, filed on May 14, 1999;

          (4) the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal
quarter ended June 30, 1999, filed on August 16, 1999;

          (5) all other documents filed by the Registrant pursuant to Section
13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act subsequent to the date of this
Prospectus and prior to the termination of the offering of the shares to which
this Prospectus relates; and

          (6) the description of the Registrant's Common Stock contained in the
Registrant's Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed October 6, 1986.

Any statement contained herein or in a document incorporated or deemed to be
incorporated by reference herein (an "Incorporated Document") shall be deemed to
be modified or superseded for all purposes to the extent that a statement
contained in this Prospectus or in any other subsequently filed Incorporated
Document or in an accompanying prospectus supplement modifies or supersedes such
statement.

Item 4.  Description of Securities.

          Not applicable

Item 5.  Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

          Not applicable

Item 6.  Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

          Article IX of the Registrant's Amended and First Restated Articles of
Incorporation provides in part:

     B.   The Corporation shall, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable
law, (i) indemnify, and (ii) advance litigation expenses prior to the final
disposition of an action, to any person made or threatened to be made a party to
an action or proceeding, whether criminal, civil, administrative or
investigative, by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director or
officer of the Corporation or served any other enterprise as a director or
officer at the request of the Corporation and such rights of indemnification and
to advancement of litigation expenses shall also be applicable to the heirs,
executors, administrators and legal representatives of such director or officer.

                                       2
<PAGE>

        C.    The foregoing provisions of Article IX shall be deemed to be a
contract between the Corporation and each director and officer who serves in
such capacity at any time while this Article IX is in effect, and any repeal or
modification hereof shall not affect the rights or obligations then or therefore
existing or any action, suit or proceeding theretofore or thereafter brought
based in whole or in part upon any such stated facts.

        D.    The foregoing rights to indemnification and to advancement of
litigation expenses shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which a
director or officer or his or her legal representatives may be entitled apart
from the provisions of this Article IX.

Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.

              Not Applicable.

Item 8. Exhibits.

        4.1   CommNet Cellular Inc. Director Compensation Plan.

        5.1   Opinion of Ireland, Stapleton, Pryor & Pascoe, P.C., regarding the
              legality of the Common Stock being registered.

        23.1  Consent of Deloitte & Touche LLP, independent auditors.

        23.2  Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, independent auditors.

        23.3  Consent of Ireland, Stapleton, Pryor & Pascoe, P.C. (included in
              the opinion filed as Exhibit 5.1).

        25.1  Power of Attorney (included in Part II of this Registration
              Statement under the Caption "Signatures").

Item 9. Undertakings.

              The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

              a.  To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being
              made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement to
              include any material information with respect to the plan of
              distribution not previously disclosed in the registration
              statement or any material change to such information.

              b.  That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
              Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment shall be
              deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the
              securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at
              that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering
              thereof.

              c.  To remove from registration by means of a post-effective
              amendment any of the securities being registered which remain
              unsold at the termination of the offering.

              d.  That, for purposes of determining any liability under the
              Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant's annual
              report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange
              Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit
              plan's annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange
              Act) that is incorporated by reference in the registration
              statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement
              relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of
              such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial
              bona fide offering

                                       3
<PAGE>

          thereof.

          e.   To deliver or cause to be delivered with the prospectus, to each
          person to whom the prospectus is sent or given, the latest annual
          report to security holders that is incorporated by reference in the
          prospectus and furnished pursuant to and meeting the requirements of
          Rule 14a-3 or Rule 14c-3 under the Exchange Act; and, where interim
          financial information required to be presented by Article 3 of
          Regulation S-X are not set forth in the prospectus, to deliver, or
          cause to be delivered to each person to whom the prospectus is sent or
          given, the latest quarterly report that is specifically incorporated
          by reference in the prospectus to provide such interim financial
          information.

          f.   Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
          Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and
          controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing
          provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the
          opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification
          is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore,
          unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against
          such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses
          incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the
          registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or
          proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling
          person in connection with the securities being registered, the
          registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has
          been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of
          appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by
          it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be
          governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

                                       4
<PAGE>

                                  SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant
certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the
requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Englewood, State of Colorado, on August 20, 1999.


                               COMMNET CELLULAR INC.

                               By:  /s/ Arnold C. Pohs
                                  ---------------------------------------
                                  Arnold C. Pohs, Chief Executive Officer

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 this
Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the
capacities and on the dates indicated.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
SIGNATURE                 TITLE                                  DATE
---------                 -----                                  ----
<S>                       <C>                                    <C>
/s/ Arnold C. Pohs        Chairman of the Board and              August 20, 1999
------------------
Arnold C. Pohs            Chief Executive Officer
                          (Principal Executive Officer)

/s/ Andrew J. Gardner     Executive Vice President and           August 20, 1999
---------------------
Andrew J. Gardner         Chief Financial Officer
                          (Principal Financial Officer)

/s/ Randy L. Lazzell      Vice President and Controller          August 20, 1999
--------------------
Randy L. Lazzell          (Principal Accounting Officer)

/s/ Daniel P. Dwyer       President and Chief Operating Officer  August 20, 1999
-------------------
Daniel P. Dwyer

/s/ Mark T. Gallogly      Director                               August 20, 1999
--------------------
Mark T. Gallogly

                          Director
----------------------
Lawrence H. Guffey

/s/ Simon P. Lonergan     Director                               August 20, 1999
---------------------
Simon P. Lonergan

/s/ William J. Ryan       Director                               August 20, 1999
-------------------
William J. Ryan

                          Director
------------------
John P. Scully

                          Director
--------------------
Peter F. Wallace
</TABLE>

                                       5
[{"type": "S-8", "sequence": "1", "description": "FORM S-8", "secsgml_size_bytes": 13758}]
{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "COMMNET CELLULAR INC", "cik": "0000787912", "assigned-sic": "4812", "irs-number": "840924904", "state-of-incorporation": "CO", "fiscal-year-end": "0930"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "act": "33", "file-number": "333-85817", "film-number": "99698554"}, "business-address": {"street1": "8350 EAST CRESCENT PARKWAY SUITE 400", "city": "ENGLEWOOD", "state": "CO", "zip": "80111", "phone": "3036943234"}, "mail-address": {"street1": "8350 EAST CRESCENT PKWY", "street2": "STE 400", "city": "ENGLEWOOD", "state": "CO", "zip": "80111"}, "former-company": {"former-conformed-name": "CELLULAR INC", "date-changed": "19920703"}}
Registration No.333-________

   As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 24, 1999.

                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                            Washington, D.C. 20549
                   ________________________________________

                                   FORM S-8
                         REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER
                          THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                             COMMNET CELLULAR INC.
                             ---------------------
            (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

          Colorado                                        84-0924904
          --------                                        ----------
     (State or other juris-                            (I.R.S. Employer
     diction of incorporation                          Identification No.)
         or organization)

                     8350 East Crescent Parkway, Suite 400
                           Englewood, Colorado 80111
                           -------------------------
         (Address, including zip code of Principal Executive Offices)

               COMMNET CELLULAR INC. DIRECTOR COMPENSATION PLAN
               ------------------------------------------------
                           (Full Title of the Plan)

                              James Everson, Esq.
                      Vice President and General Counsel
                             CommNet Cellular Inc.
                     8350 East Crescent Parkway, Suite 400
                           Englewood, Colorado 80111
                                (303) 694-3234
                                ---------------
                     (Name, address and telephone number,
                  including area code, of agent for service)

                              __________________

                        CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
========================================================================================================
Title of each class of     Amount to be       Proposed maximum       Proposed maximum        Amount of
 securities to be           registered       offering price per     aggregate offering     registration
 registered                                         Share                  price              Fee
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Stock, $.001            9,000               $30.844*              $277,594*              $78
par value per share
========================================================================================================
__________________________

*    Estimated, pursuant to Rule 457(c), solely for the purpose of calculating
the registration fee based on the average of the high and low selling prices
reported on the Nasdaq National Market on August 17, 1999.
PART II
              INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3.  Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

          The following documents which have been filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
(the "Exchange Act"), are hereby incorporated by reference in this Registration
Statement:

          (1) the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended September 30, 1998, filed December 29, 1998;

          (2) the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal
quarter ended December 31, 1998, filed on February 12, 1999;

          (3) the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal
quarter ended March 31, 1999, filed on May 14, 1999;

          (4) the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal
quarter ended June 30, 1999, filed on August 16, 1999;

          (5) all other documents filed by the Registrant pursuant to Section
13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act subsequent to the date of this
Prospectus and prior to the termination of the offering of the shares to which
this Prospectus relates; and

          (6) the description of the Registrant's Common Stock contained in the
Registrant's Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed October 6, 1986.

Any statement contained herein or in a document incorporated or deemed to be
incorporated by reference herein (an "Incorporated Document") shall be deemed to
be modified or superseded for all purposes to the extent that a statement
contained in this Prospectus or in any other subsequently filed Incorporated
Document or in an accompanying prospectus supplement modifies or supersedes such
statement.

Item 4.  Description of Securities.

          Not applicable

Item 5.  Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

          Not applicable

Item 6.  Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

          Article IX of the Registrant's Amended and First Restated Articles of
Incorporation provides in part:

     B.   The Corporation shall, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable
law, (i) indemnify, and (ii) advance litigation expenses prior to the final
disposition of an action, to any person made or threatened to be made a party to
an action or proceeding, whether criminal, civil, administrative or
investigative, by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director or
officer of the Corporation or served any other enterprise as a director or
officer at the request of the Corporation and such rights of indemnification and
to advancement of litigation expenses shall also be applicable to the heirs,
executors, administrators and legal representatives of such director or officer.

                                       2
C.    The foregoing provisions of Article IX shall be deemed to be a
contract between the Corporation and each director and officer who serves in
such capacity at any time while this Article IX is in effect, and any repeal or
modification hereof shall not affect the rights or obligations then or therefore
existing or any action, suit or proceeding theretofore or thereafter brought
based in whole or in part upon any such stated facts.

        D.    The foregoing rights to indemnification and to advancement of
litigation expenses shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which a
director or officer or his or her legal representatives may be entitled apart
from the provisions of this Article IX.

Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.

              Not Applicable.

Item 8. Exhibits.

        4.1   CommNet Cellular Inc. Director Compensation Plan.

        5.1   Opinion of Ireland, Stapleton, Pryor & Pascoe, P.C., regarding the
              legality of the Common Stock being registered.

        23.1  Consent of Deloitte & Touche LLP, independent auditors.

        23.2  Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, independent auditors.

        23.3  Consent of Ireland, Stapleton, Pryor & Pascoe, P.C. (included in
              the opinion filed as Exhibit 5.1).

        25.1  Power of Attorney (included in Part II of this Registration
              Statement under the Caption "Signatures").

Item 9. Undertakings.

              The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

              a.  To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being
              made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement to
              include any material information with respect to the plan of
              distribution not previously disclosed in the registration
              statement or any material change to such information.

              b.  That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
              Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment shall be
              deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the
              securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at
              that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering
              thereof.

              c.  To remove from registration by means of a post-effective
              amendment any of the securities being registered which remain
              unsold at the termination of the offering.

              d.  That, for purposes of determining any liability under the
              Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant's annual
              report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange
              Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit
              plan's annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange
              Act) that is incorporated by reference in the registration
              statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement
              relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of
              such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial
              bona fide offering

                                       3
thereof.

          e.   To deliver or cause to be delivered with the prospectus, to each
          person to whom the prospectus is sent or given, the latest annual
          report to security holders that is incorporated by reference in the
          prospectus and furnished pursuant to and meeting the requirements of
          Rule 14a-3 or Rule 14c-3 under the Exchange Act; and, where interim
          financial information required to be presented by Article 3 of
          Regulation S-X are not set forth in the prospectus, to deliver, or
          cause to be delivered to each person to whom the prospectus is sent or
          given, the latest quarterly report that is specifically incorporated
          by reference in the prospectus to provide such interim financial
          information.

          f.   Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
          Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and
          controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing
          provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the
          opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification
          is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore,
          unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against
          such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses
          incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the
          registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or
          proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling
          person in connection with the securities being registered, the
          registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has
          been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of
          appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by
          it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be
          governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

                                       4
SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant
certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the
requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Englewood, State of Colorado, on August 20, 1999.

                               COMMNET CELLULAR INC.

                               By:  /s/ Arnold C. Pohs
                                  ---------------------------------------
                                  Arnold C. Pohs, Chief Executive Officer

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 this
Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the
capacities and on the dates indicated.
SIGNATURE                 TITLE                                  DATE
---------                 -----                                  ----
/s/ Arnold C. Pohs        Chairman of the Board and              August 20, 1999
------------------
Arnold C. Pohs            Chief Executive Officer
                          (Principal Executive Officer)

/s/ Andrew J. Gardner     Executive Vice President and           August 20, 1999
---------------------
Andrew J. Gardner         Chief Financial Officer
                          (Principal Financial Officer)

/s/ Randy L. Lazzell      Vice President and Controller          August 20, 1999
--------------------
Randy L. Lazzell          (Principal Accounting Officer)

/s/ Daniel P. Dwyer       President and Chief Operating Officer  August 20, 1999
-------------------
Daniel P. Dwyer

/s/ Mark T. Gallogly      Director                               August 20, 1999
--------------------
Mark T. Gallogly

                          Director
----------------------
Lawrence H. Guffey

/s/ Simon P. Lonergan     Director                               August 20, 1999
---------------------
Simon P. Lonergan

/s/ William J. Ryan       Director                               August 20, 1999
-------------------
William J. Ryan

                          Director
------------------
John P. Scully

                          Director
--------------------
Peter F. Wallace
5