Lower 48 Cell carrier coverage in AK?
Jul 9, 18, 5:26 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Somewhere in Florida
Posts: 2,531
Lower 48 Cell carrier coverage in AK?
Hi all,
Looks like a few of us in my office will be spending quite a bit of time in AK over the next few months, starting Saturday (just got the e-mail about an hour ago). We have a split Verizon / T-Mobile contract for cell service at the office. Which carrier would be better suited for AK? It's my understanding that T-Mobile has agreements with GCI. I can't find much info on what Verizon has up there.
Looks like a few of us in my office will be spending quite a bit of time in AK over the next few months, starting Saturday (just got the e-mail about an hour ago). We have a split Verizon / T-Mobile contract for cell service at the office. Which carrier would be better suited for AK? It's my understanding that T-Mobile has agreements with GCI. I can't find much info on what Verizon has up there.
Jul 19, 18, 3:58 am
#4
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Verizon now provides native LTE service in most of Alaska's population centers (Anchorage/the Valley/the Kenai Peninsula plus the Juneau and Fairbanks areas). The Verizon coverage map is accurate: https://www.verizonwireless.com/feat...map=4glte#maps
Because it's a recent addition (previously, they roamed on ACS), they only installed 4G LTE. If you have a 3G/CDMA device, it will not connect to native Verizon and will (slowly) roam on GCI's legacy CDMA network. As well, if you travel outside of the native LTE coverage area, you'll fall back to 3G/CDMA, but it will be roaming on GCI's legacy CDMA network.
Native T-Mobile subscribers may be able to roam on GCI (I cannot confirm, as I do not have T-Mo), but I can tell you that MVNOs that use the T-Mo network likely will not roam.
Among the national providers, AT&T provides the best coverage (by far) in Alaska, with Verizon in a distant second. T-Mo has no native service in Alaska (you'll have to rely on other reports about roaming agreements), and Sprint is the worst of the bunch (no native service and very poor roaming agreements, if any).
For mission-critical connectivity outside of the populated centers of the state, the only realistic option is GCI's newer GSM/HSPA/LTE network. They do have various prepaid products (SIMs, etc.) that may help.
Because it's a recent addition (previously, they roamed on ACS), they only installed 4G LTE. If you have a 3G/CDMA device, it will not connect to native Verizon and will (slowly) roam on GCI's legacy CDMA network. As well, if you travel outside of the native LTE coverage area, you'll fall back to 3G/CDMA, but it will be roaming on GCI's legacy CDMA network.
Native T-Mobile subscribers may be able to roam on GCI (I cannot confirm, as I do not have T-Mo), but I can tell you that MVNOs that use the T-Mo network likely will not roam.
Among the national providers, AT&T provides the best coverage (by far) in Alaska, with Verizon in a distant second. T-Mo has no native service in Alaska (you'll have to rely on other reports about roaming agreements), and Sprint is the worst of the bunch (no native service and very poor roaming agreements, if any).
For mission-critical connectivity outside of the populated centers of the state, the only realistic option is GCI's newer GSM/HSPA/LTE network. They do have various prepaid products (SIMs, etc.) that may help.
Jul 19, 18, 10:10 pm
#5
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We used T-Mo recently in ANC and the data and voice service were perfect on the GCI network. However voice mail did not work up there on either of our lines. A check seemed to show that call forwarding seemed not to work. We needed to keep the phones handy so as not to miss any calls.
Jul 20, 18, 7:20 am
#6
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Location: MN
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We used T-Mo recently in ANC and the data and voice service were perfect on the GCI network. However voice mail did not work up there on either of our lines. A check seemed to show that call forwarding seemed not to work. We needed to keep the phones handy so as not to miss any calls.
Aug 4, 18, 1:33 pm
#9
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SGF
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Sep 15, 18, 8:26 pm
#11
Join Date: Mar 2005
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Jul 20, 23, 3:23 pm
#12
Moderator: Hawaii-based airlines & Hawai'i forums
Join Date: Mar 2003
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T-Mobile user here. I spent a week out at Elfin Cove travelling to/from Juneau via boat. As stated above, no issues with 5G in most of Juneau proper via GCI roaming with some dead spots as one drives north past Auke Bay to the end of the road. Heading out to sea, surprisingly good LTE coverage for about 40 miles and then it becomes very spotty with mostly AT&T service. In Elfin Cove proper, the only reliable connection limited to text messages.
