said by BiggA:So far, this is for the tourists. Verizon doesn't want to keep paying roaming fees to ACS. They still will in some places, but this will cut it down. If it weren't for tourism, I doubt they'd even want to be in Alaska. AT&T owns the state. They have the best coverage in most places, fast data, etc.
There are a lot of folks, including myself, who have relocated to Alaska from other Verizon-served areas. Also, there is a large military community. I believe Verizon is trying to better serve us transplants, while saving on roaming fees in the future. I, personally, am glad to see competition in Alaska's broadband market!