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Reliable home phone service in Alaska that doesn't require internet
State population: 740,339
Total number of households with telephone service: 271,311
Households 65 years and over with telephone service available: 58,461
Number of senior citizens: 145,052
Percentage of state population that are seniors: 19.59%
Number of senior citizens with a landline: 79,779
Number of cell towers in the state: 274
*Data is estimated from the 2021 American Community Survey Data and 2022 US Census Estimates.
If you're looking for traditional landline phone service in Alaska the type of phone service provided through copper wires and phone jacks in your wall you won't be able to find it in Alaska for much longer.
Traditional providers in Alaska don't offer copper wire-based landline phone service.
Instead, they offer internet-based VoIP (voice over internet protocol) service; that means if your internet is slow or goes down (or you don't have internet), you can't use your phone.
In fact, by a 2019 FCC order (FCC Order 10-721A), traditional landline phone service will not be available anywhere in the country starting on August 2, 2022. All copper wire landline service provided by traditional carriers in the country will be replaced with internet-based service, such as FiOS or other VoIP providers.
The main landline service provider in Alaska is Community Phone, which offers basic landline service without internet. Other providers inlcude Alaska Communications and TelAlaska.
Yes. Community Phone is the only landline service provider in Alaska that does not require the internet to work. Community Phone works by connecting your landline phone to cell towers, rather than through the internet.
Instead of copper wire or internet-based phone service, Community Phone provides landline phone service in Alaska through your local cell towers.
In Alaska, there are 274 cell towers located throughout the state. Community Phone will connect your landline phone to the cell tower with the strongest connection.
Local provider GCI boasts impressive coverage in the more populated regions of Alaska. It claims to cover 97% of Alaska's population. Meanwhile, AT&T and Verizon are relative newcomers to the state.
Alaska has 250 zip codes, of which AT&T covers roughly 47.6% of them.
Roughly 3,413.3 square miles of Alaska have access to cell coverage, meaning Community Phone service will work almost anywhere in the state.
This may have been true in the past, but not anymore. Because copper wire is being phased out across the country, providers have left their lines in a state of disrepair. That means there are frequent service interruptions, even at the best of times. It also means that during a power outage, copper wire phone service is very likely to go down as well. Major providers are much more concerned with maintaining and improving their wireless towers and providing quality, consistent cellular service, and are not interested in even maintaining their copper wire service as they phase it out completely in 2022.
No, there are no providers in Alaska who still provide copper wire landline phone service. Traditional landline phone service will not be available anywhere in the country starting August 2, 2022, according to FCC Order 10-721A.
Reliable home phone service in Alaska that doesn't require internet
State population: 740,339
Total number of households with telephone service: 271,311
Households 65 years and over with telephone service available: 58,461
Number of senior citizens: 145,052
Percentage of state population that are seniors: 19.59%
Number of senior citizens with a landline: 79,779
Number of cell towers in the state: 274
*Data is estimated from the 2021 American Community Survey Data and 2022 US Census Estimates.
