Cell Phone use in Alaska and Canada

Does my lower 48 cell phone function in Alaska and Canada?

Does my lower 48 cell phone function in Alaska and Canada?

1. Check with your provider, your plan, etc. may be different.

2. Yes - at least in AK (without extra charge my plan)

Skagway, Ak. by Amy S, on Flickr

I took and sent this photo to Flickr from Skagway, Ak.

Alaska seems to be covered by most US plans. Canada is usually not included. Check with your carrier to be sure what your plan covers.

Thoughts...

• Yes it will work in Vancouver... however you will likely be paying for roaming charges.
  
• On the boat.... there will be coverage in the inside passage and around Prince Rupert. No coverage in between. Ship reception works best on top deck, outside cabins/balconies facing towns and villages.
  
• ATT has the best coverage in Alaska, but I can see other carriers increasing their coverage.
  
• No coverage in Tracy Arm, but I hear ATT has introduced a tower in Glacier Bay. Check out the ATT coverage map to see where there is coverage.
  
• when the ship is away from port, they turn on their roaming service that can be expensive. Go to your phone and disable roaming to only work with your native carrier. I also go to manual carrier selection.
  
• You can also subscribe to your ship's internet service if you need coverage 100% of the time. Works best in the late evening and early morning when most cruisers are sleeping.
  

@4774papa.... to clarify.... who is your carrier?

Check with your carrier. I just switched to AT&T and they said even though Alaska is apart of the US and you may get coverage, their data pings off Canadian towers and you will get charged outrageous fees. I am going to ask them again if this is true, but I have a feeling this is accurate.

Of course, do not use your phone on the ship. You are in international waters and will be charged roaming fees.

Check with your carrier. I just switched to AT&T and they said even though Alaska is apart of the US and you may get coverage, their data pings off Canadian towers and you will get charged outrageous fees. I am going to ask them again if this is true, but I have a feeling this is accurate.

I use AT&T and had no problem with extra charges for my cell phone use in Alaska last year. Some areas didn't get a signal, but those that did were on the AT&T network.

There are no Canadian towers in Alaska. There are no Canadian towers in Alaskan ports. You may get some Canadian reception near the international border.

Just stating what the rep told me. Like I said, I would verify with the carrier and not ask on a forum. I am asking again because I would like to use my phone there.

Alaska seems to be covered by most US plans. Canada is usually not included. Check with your carrier to be sure what your plan covers.

Hey Paul....random but we live in the same city ;)

How are you liking this ice/snow storm today? Reminding me of some Alaska weather!

Check with your carrier. I just switched to AT&T and they said even though Alaska is apart of the US and you may get coverage, their data pings off Canadian towers and you will get charged outrageous fees. I am going to ask them again if this is true, but I have a feeling this is accurate.

 

Of course, do not use your phone on the ship. You are in international waters and will be charged roaming fees.

I live in Juneau, Alaska- and have AT&T service- no Canadian towers here- never a problem using my phone or having additional charges while using my phone all over Alaska. Or for that matter- traveling throughout the "lower 48"- Having said that- if you use your phone while you are "under way"- and hit the ship service- that is another matter.

We have ATT and get great reception while in all of the ports we have stopped except Skagway. If the ship is parked close to the rock cliff in Skagway, the reception is not so great but the reception in town was excellent.

I will definitely give my ATT cell phone a try in Glacier Bay this May.

Cruise two years ago with AT&T and no extra charges (only used in ports). Always had service. Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway and Seward. Our son lives in Nome and we have no big issues there. Pictures taken there and sent sometimes to a bit longer but texts and talking fine. We drove from Anchorage up to Denali (just in case you are doing some land combo) and most of the time no issues. If we lost service it would just be a few miles and then get it again.

be careful though. You don't want to accidentally roam on ship's antenna. That can be a very expensive mistake

I have tmobile and Alaska was covered. However there were spots where coverage was spotty especially when outside the main town.

Anyone have experience with Verizon coverage?

When we are in ports, are there any stores/restaurants that have free wifi?

There are probably some that provide free wifi with a purchase. Usually McDonalds and Starbucks have it. Ask or follow the crew. They know the best places.

There are probably some that provide free wifi with a purchase. Usually McDonalds and Starbucks have it. Ask or follow the crew. They know the best places.

This may be helpful for free Wifi:

http://www.wififreespot.com/alk.php

Our phones are through tracfone. One is an older flip-phone using ATT GSM. Another is a smart phone using Verizon CDMA. I think at least one will work in each port, most likely the flip-phone on ATT. I'll report back after our trip in May this year.

In Alaska, like everywhere else in the US, we are at the mercy of competing corporate conglomerates. There exists here "Two basic technologies in mobile phones, CDMA and GSM which represent a gap you can't cross. They're the reason you can't use many AT&T phones on Verizon's network and vice versa."

"But what does CDMA vs. GSM really mean for you? In the U.S., Sprint, Verizon and U.S. Cellular use CDMA. AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM."

"The CDMA vs. GSM gap will close eventually as everyone moves to 4G LTE, but that doesn't mean everyone's phones will be compatible. LTE, or "Long Term Evolution," is the new globally accepted 4G wireless standard. All of the U.S. carriers are turning it on." "Many Sprint and Verizon phones now have SIM cards, but that isn't because of CDMA. The SIM cards are generally there for Sprint's and Verizon's 4G LTE networks, because the LTE standard also uses SIM cards. The phones may also have SIM slots to support foreign GSM networks as "world phones".

If you want to know more, or probably more accurately, what you don't want to know, read on: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2407896,00.asp

In Alaska the big players are Verizon, ATT and local outfits GCI and ACS. Recently ACS wireless was bought out by GCI in order to phase out the competition. GCI is GSM and ACS is CDMA. For the most part all phones usually work in and near any community of size, say over 500. In rural areas or on the road systems, it is a different story, in eastern Alaska where I spend my summers in the Wrangell mountains GCI and ATT don't work, only Verizon, ACS and a small local outfit called Copper Valley Wireless. In the more western reaches of the state, GCI and ATT have the advantage.

Have been going up to Alaska for 15 years fishing. Have had the same flip phone with Verizon service and I would say 95% of the time I have no problem getting a signal. Never been charged extra except once about 5 yrs ago when they merged but they waived fees after calling them. Have never been to lower passage so can't help you there. I fish anywhere between Fairbanks and Homer. My nephew's I-phone always has a problem. Hope my flip lasts another 15 yrs!!!LOL

Check out this website http://www.cruiseportinsider.com/juneau.html#.VqQKvrArImo

Consumer Cellular runs on AT+T and has coverage in Alaska.

Discovered that Consumer Cellular does not have coverage in Canada however our Mobal international phone does.