Anchorage Daily News

On Friday, most of the contiguous states will delight in the debut of the cell phone/music player/multimedia device promised to revolutionize how we dial. And, as per usual, Alaskans will be stuck in the telecommunication dark age sans iPhone.

AT&T has a five-year exclusive contract with Apple for iPhone. And they don't offer cell service here. Yep, it could be half a decade.

Maybe we can make string-and-cup phones and take turns holding a boom box up to them in emulation of the iPhone enlightenment.

But what about the itchy fingers among us? The ones who can't wait to caress its scratch- resistant glass and watch "The Starter Wife" on its sparkling 3.5-inch screen?

There's one other option. An option that AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel disdained to hear we would write about.

"There's nothing frivolous about this," he said. "This is not the way wireless service is to be bought and used."

Scruples aside, here's how an Alaskan can get their mitts on that $499 phone:

Buy a plane ticket to the nearest AT&T or Apple Store (at least $350 to Seattle) and misrepresent oneself as a Washington resident. Get ready to pay sales tax for the phone plus a yet-unknown amount for the service plan.

Or find a friend in the Lower 48 to do the misrepresenting, in which case shipping runs $1.48 to $16.25.

Now the really sneaky part:

Siegel said AT&T would be on to Alaskans' tricks quickly. AT&T knows when calls bounce off another provider's towers because it costs them even if it doesn't show up on your bill. Service would be terminated, and said dishonest Alaskan is out $499 (or more; that's the cheapest model).

For "security reasons," Siegel declined to say how long it would take AT&T to figure out a user was chatting/texting/downloading exclusively outside AT&T service area.

A call to AT&T's help line cleared up that mystery.

An obliging customer service agent explained that if AT&T's computer sees four months of chitchatting in Alaska (or elsewhere out of AT&T coverage area), service will be automatically canceled.

But if you call AT&T ahead of time and explain to them that you'll be on an extended trip, you can avoid service termination -- at least for a little while.

In a second phone call, Siegel testily confirmed the four-month figure.

But he emphasized that if the iPhone is in Alaska more than it is in AT&T service area -- service will be terminated.

Cost of getting the phone up here aside, and not considering dollars dropped outfitting the thing with songs and movies -- after buying the phone, paying for call minutes, texting and Web services, and assuming you'll only get to use it for about four months before AT&T cuts the cord -- it's a spendy, short-lived glory.

But beating Alaska's technological lag time?

Priceless.

Find Leslie Anne Jones online at adn.com/contact/ljones or call 257-4200.