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Old 07-16-2013, 12:53 PM
 
63 posts, read 183,916 times
Reputation: 37

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chilkoot View Post
We've been looking at Verizon and AT&T but will wait until Verizon makes its entrance into Alaska. GCI and ACS are merging their wireless services as well to compete so we're hoping that there will be some introductory offers when Verizon begins service. It will be hard to beat GCI/ACS for coverage in Alaska.

Verizon turns on Alaska 4G LTE network


Verizon officially turned on its signal in Anchorage, Fairbanks, North Pole, Juneau and much of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough June 7.


Verizon turns on Alaska 4G LTE network - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Business
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Old 07-16-2013, 01:01 PM
 
63 posts, read 183,916 times
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After reading the Article it says in the short term it will be data only so voice/text will still have to "roam" on other networks. Did yall read it the same way?

I wonder if it will be reliable voice and text service. As reliable as AT&T's current network?
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Old 07-16-2013, 05:04 PM
 
Location: Alaska
5,356 posts, read 18,560,073 times
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I'd guess it will be as reliable as AT&T for voice and text. The one thing from the article to note is that if you can't connect to their 4G LTE network, you'll fall back to 3G or less, as they are not compatible with everyone's else's 4G LTE.

Nice to know there is an alternative coming. Here in Juneau, I haven't seen any local Verizon ads. They won't have the Alaska coverage like AT&T, GCI and ACS for a couple of years.
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Old 07-16-2013, 05:30 PM
 
63 posts, read 183,916 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by akck View Post
I'd guess it will be as reliable as AT&T for voice and text. The one thing from the article to note is that if you can't connect to their 4G LTE network, you'll fall back to 3G or less, as they are not compatible with everyone's else's 4G LTE...

I get your point. My questions is if Verizon 4G LTE network is NOT compatible with the AT&T then that must mean AT&T isn't compatible with Verizon correct? Or am I wrong?


Lets say you lost Verizon 4G LTE Service and it drops down to 3G or less roaming on some other network.

What would happen if the same thing happened while you are using AT&T 4GLTE? What would it switch to if you lose LTE?
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Old 07-16-2013, 06:37 PM
 
Location: NP AK/SF NM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by akck View Post
My kids are on our family plan with AT&T. They all have Alaska area code numbers and have had them for years while going to school in the lower 48. Nowadays, it's common for people to keep their cell phone plans and old numbers after they move.
My son is on our AT&T Family Plan, has an Alaska number, but attends school in Iowa. It is one of the few places around that doesn't have AT&T service and AT&T threatened to cut him off once they figured out that most of his data usage was off-network. They wouldn't make an exception even though he was a student attending school out of state. After that he made sure to use wifi if available. This school year we will be exploring other options for him locally.
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Old 07-18-2013, 10:22 AM
 
Location: Alaska
5,356 posts, read 18,560,073 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by drvasek View Post
I get your point. My questions is if Verizon 4G LTE network is NOT compatible with the AT&T then that must mean AT&T isn't compatible with Verizon correct? Or am I wrong?


Lets say you lost Verizon 4G LTE Service and it drops down to 3G or less roaming on some other network.

What would happen if the same thing happened while you are using AT&T 4GLTE? What would it switch to if you lose LTE?
You'd go to 4G first, then 3G and so forth. I have an older phone that's on 4G. My son's phone gets LTE, but he's working in Hoonah now and barely gets anything.
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Old 07-22-2013, 04:05 PM
 
10,920 posts, read 6,924,676 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by drvasek View Post
I went into a verizon store yesterday and they showed me the coverage map.

Countless Reasons. One Choice | Verizon Wireless - Verizon Wireless

They said that they have 4G LTE in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau. Well that is what he claimed. Looks like the coverage maps on the Verizon website show good coverage.


Here is Verizon's comparison coverage map showing (Verizon, AT&T, Spring and T-Mobile)

Countless Reasons. One Choice | Verizon Wireless - Verizon Wireless
I was just in Alaska for a few days (visiting from CA). We went down to Seward and Kenai Fjords for a day, we were in Anchorage for a day, and we went up to Denali for a couple days. I actually never had data service the entire time. There were times in Anchorage where a little "4G" icon would appear next to my bars, but I was never actually able to connect to anything. I did have voice service in the towns. I had texting service twice (I got batches of texts at these times), but never had picture messaging. Between towns I had absolutely no service, voice or data.

I have a new Android phone (Droid 4).

As a comparison, my girlfriend's AT&T iphone 4 had service (data and voice) reliably in all of the cities/towns. Even on the Seward Highway and the Parks Highway she had service for many stretches.

If I were to move to Alaska, I'd certainly ditch Verizon and go for a GSM carrier.

Last edited by HockeyMac18; 07-22-2013 at 04:14 PM..
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Old 07-22-2013, 04:57 PM
 
Location: Henrico, VA
3 posts, read 7,591 times
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Go to OpenSignal.com... They have good descriptions... In Anchorage, AT&T was the best, but personally, I like Verizon better, but AT&T was better. In Fairbanks, Verizon was the best, but if your primary location is Anchorage, then go with AT&T, and AT&T was still #2 in Fairbanks...
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Old 07-22-2013, 06:52 PM
 
Location: NP AK/SF NM
681 posts, read 1,209,634 times
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In Fairbanks, I believe Verizon voice is using the ACS network. From my past experience, ACS was no better than AT&T or GCI in the Fairbanks area.
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Old 07-26-2013, 08:37 PM
 
Location: Texas No More....Alaska!!!
44 posts, read 86,773 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by akpls View Post
In Fairbanks, I believe Verizon voice is using the ACS network. From my past experience, ACS was no better than AT&T or GCI in the Fairbanks area.
I've got GCI with nation wide service and found no problems with signals talking to my family in Texas, Florida and the Caribean.
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