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Beyond the nation’s largest wireless phone companies, there are a handful of regional providers delivering service to customers the big carriers bypass. In one of the nation’s most rural states, Alaska Communications Systems is the first to announce it is effectively matching Verizon Wireless and AT&T’s unlimited pricing plans.
ACS operates a CDMA network in scattered regions across more populated sections of the state. The company provides 3G access in limited parts of their coverage area — namely larger cities like Anchorage, Juneau, and Fairbanks, but also saw it worth their while to provide service in and around Prudhoe Bay to serve oil workers.
The company also announced an unlimited data plan for $40 a month, although it’s limited to smartphone customers only. Wireless broadband customers using the company’s USB dongle will pay $80 a month for standalone service, with significant discounts if they bundle other ACS services on their account.
“Alaskans deserve the best network and the best value in wireless service,” said Heather Eldred, ACS assistant vice president, product development. “Wireless data is an area where ACS will distinguish itself in the market and we’re proud to match compelling data plans with the state’s best 3G network.”
ACS also joins Verizon and AT&T in compelling smartphone and other advanced phone owners to purchase a data plan, currently priced at $40 a month for unlimited access.
ACS' Coverage Map (click to enlarge)
Other regional players may be forced to match AT&T and Verizon’s new pricing, but if they have data-capable networks, they’re also likely earn new revenue from compulsory data plans whether customers want them or not.
To keep track and compare what’s on offer, Billshrink plotted the pricing options for the four major American carriers, which will likely serve as a guideline for regional carriers that want to stay competitive with their larger brethren.
Click to Enlarge
Other stories of interest:
- Can You Pay Me Now? Verizon Wireless “Refreshes” Pricing: Mandates Pricey Paltry Data Plans for “Enhanced Multimedia Phones”
- Verizon Wireless Data Corral: Herding Customers Into New Data Plans Starting January 18th
- Verizon Wireless Introducing Prepaid Wireless Broadband, But Get Your Wallet: $15 A Day For 75 Megabytes
- AT&T Refuses to Lower iPhone Data Plan Rates: Company “Happy” With Pricing
- Wireless Broadband: A Bountiful Garden of Consumer Choice, Pricing, & Plans… Not
US Cellular has also revised their unlimited offering to match Verizon and AT&T’s.
Also, FYI, BillShrink is run by T-Mobile last I checked.
The only real competitors to ACS in Alaska are AT&T and the regional cable provider GCI (GCI.com).
While you can of course roam with sprint, tmobile, veizon, they don’t market or sell their service in Alaska.