Cellular One joins wireless offerings in fairbanks, southeast

Alaska has gained a new cellular service provider, and the

new player plans upgrades to the systems it purchased in

Fairbanks and Southeast Alaska.

Dobson Communications Corp. of Oklahoma City completed its acquisition on Feb. 18 of the cellular licenses, which operate under

On Jan. 31 the company concluded a deal to purchase the Cellular One cellular license for Southeast, including Juneau and Ketchikan, according to Dobson Communications president Ed Evans.

The company will continue to operate as Cellular One in Alaska, a brand that Dobson markets in other states, he said.

"We're brand new to Alaska," he said.

Previous owner CenturyTel of Monroe, La., acquired the Alaska cellular market when it purchased Pacific Telecom Inc. in December 1997.

In August 1998, CenturyTel agreed to sell most of its Alaska operations, which included PTI Communications, to ALEC Acquisition Corp., parent company of Alaska Communications Systems.