Guest Commentary: Celebrating the success of Cordova Wireless

Guest Commentary
By Paul Kelly
For The Cordova Times

Two years ago, Cordova Wireless embarked on a journey that would end in providing our customers and AT&T Mobility roamers with the very best cellular coverage the industry had to offer. Today that goal has been achieved. The results have exceeded our expectations!

Cordova Wireless Communications (CWC) provides VoLTE (Voice over Long Term Evolution) technology throughout our entire service area to 30 miles distance and a robust 3G network capable of 10 Mb speeds to over 100 miles from mountain top sites.  Our service area has been expanded by 30 percent and serves vast areas of commercial fishing and recreational grounds, where no other wireless service exists.

The acronyms in the communications industry are many and they can be confusing and intimidating but having a basic understanding of what they refer to can help you navigate the service options available.  VoLTE or 4G/VoLTE basically refers to the highest quality service there is in the wireless voice and data industry.  VoLTE offers the customer a data/video experience on their smartphone or tablet, similar to or perhaps even better than what they experience on their internet / data connection at home (unless they have a CTC DSL connection.) CWC delivers 4G/VoLTE in HD so the user can access movies and sports events in a video quality that may also be better than their cable TV experience at home.

When many telephone cooperatives/companies across America sold off their wireless subsidiaries years ago, Cordova Telephone held on to theirs, hoping someday it would pay off. Before we could advance our cellular operations to include an incredible data experience, we had to first connect to the world with fiber optics. That project cost millions of dollars and four years to accomplish, but made it possible to have the bandwidth needed to deliver an unparalleled cellular data experience in Cordova.

For many years, CWC struggled to provide basic service, struggled to build strategically located remote sites/towers, and then struggled to keep pace in the data world. Now all of those tribulations are a thing of the past. Today, CWC has the very best Ericsson electronics and a long term roaming agreement with AT&T Mobility (ATTM). Both of these relationships give us the support we need to operate our dozen cell sites and deliver the best quality, voice, and data service available in the industry. Our local footprint is much larger than before because we added sites and installed better equipment. Our greater footprint includes the entire ATTM network. Our services are all state of the art because we operate both on the 850 and 700 megahertz spectrum. Going forward, CWC will automatically include new features as they are added to the ATTM network.

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CWC is committed to continually improving our network. We have identified areas where we can improve transport or build redundancy for the future. We have more than adequate bandwidth available to our network and continue to stay well ahead of the demand. Our wireless capacity today is great enough to serve the city of Fairbanks.

CTC and CWC provide 18 high-end jobs in Cordova and bring well over $12 million into the community annually. Last year alone, CTC and CWC donated nearly $100,000 to various needs in the community. All of our employees work hard to provide a world-class customer service experience second to none and will help train and advise you as needed on any smartphone you choose.

It is easy and painless to port your number to us or we can provide you with a new number and instantly notify your entire contact list.  We hope when choosing a wireless carrier you will choose Cordova Wireless Communications and support local jobs and local business.   We greatly appreciate the many customers who have enjoyed this journey with us and we welcome the many new customers these changes have brought us. Thank you all for supporting Cordova Wireless Communications!

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