Cellphone coverage in Alaska (ie: T-Mobile)

[elephant98]

I'm making a trip to Alaska next month. I will be visiting Fairbanks, Denali, Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula. Because I will be driving a rental car to each destination, I want to have access to a cellular phone in case of car trouble or an emergency. I've looked into renting a cellular phone for a week. But, I'm wondering if I will be able to use my own cell phone.

 

I have cellular phone service through T-Mobile. I understand that T-Mobile does not provide direct service for their customers in Alaska. But, does that necessarily mean that I won't be able to use my phone at all? Can I make calls on my phone (albeit at a higher cost per minute) using another carrier while I'm up there?

 

The reason I ask is because my parents are in Alaska right now and they have had no problems making calls in either Fairbanks or Denali National Park (both places which I will be visiting soon). They have AT&T Wireless. But, it was my understanding that even AT&T didn't even provide coverage to those areas. Am I wrong?

 

Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks in advance. (This topic may have been discussed elsewhere on this site. But, the text search doesn't seem to be working right now.)

[srphnx]

Yes it means that, I don't believe there is any GMS service there, wasn't for me.

 

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[tinydancer21]

In Fairbanks we just have ACS (Alaska Communications System) or Cellualr One. Driving between Fairbanks and Anchorage you'll loose service with either of those in most areas.

My girlfriend came home for the summer from Arizona and she has AT&T and she can only Text Message with her phone up here.

I'm not sure if they offer different company's in Anchorage, they are a much bigger city than us (Fairbanks)

 

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[mpk]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by elephant98:

my parents are in Alaska right now and they have had no problems making calls in either Fairbanks or Denali National Park (both places which I will be visiting soon). They have AT&T Wireless. But, it was my understanding that even AT&T didn't even provide coverage to those areas. Am I wrong?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

It depends on which flavor of ATT your parents have. What state would they have registered the phones on ATT in and about how long ago? Better yet, do you know what phone manufacturer and model they use?

 

ATT is TDMA based, and is now rolling out GSM service. If your parents were using GSM, your T-mobile (GSM) will probably work.

[whenzuc]

how about verizon wireless service in the bigger cites? any coverage?

[Budget Queen]

I have Verizon nationwide plan (2nd phone has more roaming charges on America's choice) I had service a good part of Alaska- Fairbanks, Denali Park, Talkeetna, Anchorage, Seward. Last Sept. had service in Ketchikan and Juneau. I found when dialing Alaska- I still had to put in the 907 area code and my phone for some reason- set the time on Pacific time rather than Alaska time???? But never any roaming charges with my Nationwide plan.