Verizon Wireless is in the process of laying groundwork for its entry into the Alaska cellphone market, leasing acreage for cell towers in urban areas from Southcentral to the Interior, according to various news reports.
The nation's largest cellular carrier is expected to enter the Alaska market in 2013. Currently, Verizon phone subscribers in Alaska operate using Alaska Communications (ACS) cell phone towers.
Verizon plans to begin offering service in the Fairbanks area with 25 towers placed strategically around town and on buildings, according to a recent Dermot Cole column in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. But not everyone's happy. In fact, folks living near the Gilmore Trail northeast of town have asked the borough assembly to overturn a permit it granted for a 120-foot cell tower, the News-Miner reports.
The company also had a bid rejected to erect a cell tower on property owned by a local church. About half of the Verizon towers in Fairbanks would be constructed, according to the story. Others would simply involve antennas and other equipment being added to existing towers.
In Southcentral, Verizon has filed notice to build a tower next to the Goose Bay Elementary School in the Mat-Su, according to the Frontiersman, intending to build out its cell network in the Valley next spring. The company last fall was authorized by the Anchorage Assembly to build a telecommunications facility on property owned by the Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility.