Cell service in Alaska
 

I posted this question earlier, but forgot to post in "Alaska". I have Alltel cell service; will it work in the Anchorage and Kenai Peninsula area? Just need to call home a few times to check on family while we are there. Thanks

I don't think most of the major carriers from the lower 48 have towers in Alaska. Our service is through Verizon and we never once got a Verizon signal on our trip last month--even in downtown Anchorage. We did, however, get a strong roaming signal in most populated areas (driving through the mountains or in other remote areas is a different story). So I don't really know for sure about AllTell, but my guess is you won't have service unless you're 1) willing to pay roaming charges or 2) on a plan that allows free access to other companys' towers.

During the month I spent in Alaska, my AT&T Wireless phone worked almost everywhere, and it worked in all of the towns. The only major carrier whose phones didn't have service there was Sprint PCS, but that might have changed since 2002.

You might call Alltel and see if they have a roaming agreement that covers Alaska. If not, consider getting one of the "go phone" prepaid phones from AT&T for your trip.

From what I could tell, we could only get Verizon service through the extended network. AT&T (now Cellular One) seems to be the service that the locals are using. I would recommend buying a calling card and using that. It would be cheaper and give you peace of mind.

I used Cingular in Skagway but didn't work in Juneau & Ketchican.

I may have answered your earlier post, but my husband has AT&T and I have T-Mobile, and we both had wonderful reception almost anywhere we went. We were very pleasantly surprised.

Which plan do you have? I have the national no-roaming charge plan that says it covers all 50 states. Go to the Alltel website and you'll see the map for Alaska. It covers the populated coastal areas.

you should probably call alltel and ask them, although they may not be much help.

We went to Alaska in early June. I called Verizon and asked them if our plan would get service there, they told us "no", they "yes but you have to pay roaming". The CS lady actually though Alaska was international LOLOLOL
We had the nationwide, no roaming plan. Then we were told it would only work in a teeny tiny part of Anchorage. Well, it worked almost everywhere, even up through Denali park, 230 miles from Anchorage. And, no , no roaming charges!

Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions. I did look at the Alltel map online,looks like it covers that area, just wanted to hear from someone who actually tried it. Tried calling Alltel, not easy to get through to a live person!(Who may or may not be aware that AK is in the United States!!)Thanks,I'll report on our trip when we return.