Phones in Alaska

thataway

Active member
Again my appology for some how pasting my post about wanting to know cell phone coverage in SE Alaska--and wondering about a cell phone.

I went ahead and pulled the responses out and put them in a new thread where they belong. I also received several very generous private offers of help in the area.

Bob Austin

Below are the responses from the misplaced thread:

Bob,

When we were in SE in 07, our Sprint cell phones worked in all the major towns. There was loss of signal at some point between towns. There was no coverage out in the 'boonies'!
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Larry H

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Bobm My niece is visiting from SanDiego and has Verizon service. She reports that it seems to work ok in most locals around Juneau but is spotty around our house near Auke Bay,
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Steve and Colleen Torrence
Juneau, Alaska
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I get good reception out front of Meyers Chuck on Clarence Strait. There is a tower between Thorne bay and Coffman Cove. I use Sprint.


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Bob;
If you are serious about a sat phone, we have a Iridium that we use up at our cabin on Harrison lake as there is a big hill between us and the nearest cell tower.
We buy a "Northern Lights" package that is good for 6 months and costs 210.00 That includes 200 minutes of call time.
I renew it at the beginning of May and we have it until the end of Oct.
I will be meeting my guy next week to get a new SIM number. I can ask him about rentals if you are interested.
Tnx, Jimbo

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First my appologies to all, I must have goofed up when I was putting up a new topic (too many stresses around our house right now!)

Thanks for the information.

The "northern lights" package sounds ideal. Please I would appreciate any further information.

I have found a "returned" phone from a person coming off a tour of duty in Iraq with 370 minutes at a good price. I would have to transfer service. Renting is certainly an option, but for 3 months it may be close to a cut off vs buying, especially if one needs it several years. Plus we always have those pesky hurricanes! (lets hope they stay away this year).

Bob Austin
 
Bob,

After my first year in Alaska, I realized that if you were somewhere with cellular coverage you probably wouldn't need help via phone.

I purchased a Motorola Iridium phone for when I am really going somewhere and have never been anywhere out of contact. It works pretty much worldwide and you can either establish regular service or rent/buy a sim card when you need it. The peace of mind is well worth the initial investment. Get a good floating waterproof box (Pelican 1400) to keep it and a portable GPS in if you buy one. Knowing search and rescue folks can get to your exact coordinates anywhere is very reassuring.
 
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