Ante up! The changing face in cellular, phones that is ... wireless.

• Author: Colby, Kent L.
• Position: TECHNOLOGY

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Before we get into the play-by-play of a high-stakes card game, it is prudent to make some clarifications. The word "cell" or "cellular telephone" refers to a type of service and name originated from the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) definition of cells of service. From the definition above, each cell is a pockmark, originally designed to have minimal overlap and with the traveling mobile telephone switched automatically to the next cell.

In its inception, many companies used some form of the cellular term in their name. Perhaps that is why the marketplace has moved away from cellular to wireless. That term, in itself, is very encompassing. For the sake of this article, we use cell, cellular and wireless interchangeably. The broad reference is to that ubiquitous device that the vast majority of Alaskans can no longer live without. Do not confuse cellular or wireless telephone with a cordless telephone, which is a very short wireless connection to a local phone outlet.

Moreover, for the trivia reader, a Motorola manager placed the first call on a cellular phone back in April of 1973. In a report from Informa Telecoms and Media as of November this past year, there is one active cell phone for every two people on the planet.

THE STAKES ARE HIGH AND GETTING HIGHER

Just when you think you know who the players are, someone deals a new hand, and with that new hand comes new faces. The biggest change to hit the card table of Alaska's cellular business has forced the hand of Alaska's largest communications provider. It's arguable that this change in players may shift, or nudge, the claim to who is biggest. That, however, is yet to be determined.

Dobson Communications Corp. has, for years, boasted Cellular One as the largest wireless network in the state and the fourth-largest provider of wireless communications in the nation. In November 2007, AT&T Inc. (NYSC: T) announced the acquisition of Dobson nationwide, to include Alaska. That merger puts Alaska's old communications company back in the wireless business and may change who is holding the high card. It is not a pat hand, but it is causing changes around the table. GCI is quick to call the hand. More on that move in a minute.

There is good news for Dobson customers who may have feared the higher wager could affect their service.

"Existing Cellular One customers won't have to do anything to enjoy the expanded nationwide coverage that is a result of the merger of...