Residents in Utqiagvik, Deering and Kivalina should now have access to faster internet speeds through GCI, the company said.
GCI launched 2.5 gig residential internet speed last month in three villages, according to the press release. The speed, considered very high, is available to more than 80% of GCI customers in Alaska, the company said.
The “2.5 gig residential internet speeds enable customers to take advantage of everything from Facetime and video conferencing to high-definition video streaming, online gaming and more,” company Spokesman Josh Edge said. “With the launch of these speeds in Utqiagvik, Deering and Kivalina, residents of each community will have access to the same level of internet connectivity as those in GCI’s other fiber-served, 2.5 gig-capable communities, like Anchorage.”
The internet plans and pricing options are the same as in Anchorage and other fiber-served communities with that connectivity, Edge said.
To improve connectivity in Utqiagvik, the company will leverage its local infrastructure, as well as middle-mile fiber owned and operated by Quintillion, GCI said in the press release.
In Kivalina and Deering, the planning for the project started around 2021, according to another press release. in 2023, the company deployed more than 170 miles of new subsea fiber to connect the two villages to the existing fiber-optic infrastructure in Kotzebue. They also installed shelter structures as the connection point between the subsea fiber and local network infrastructure. The company said they focused their work in 2024 on connecting homes and businesses.
[From 2023: Deering and Kivalina to have fiber internet in the coming years]
To ensure the fiber-optic service stays reliable in the remote villages affected by frequent and severe storms, the company uses special armoring for the cable and trenches the sea floor to put the cable as deep as possible, former GCI Chief Communications Officer Heather Handyside previously had said.
Edge said that severe storms don’t typically have a significant impact on fiber-optic networks, but in case of an interruption to service, GCI has satellite-based backup systems in place to keep the communities connected.
“We also have technicians based out of Nome, Kotzebue and Bethel, as well as local site agents on call around the state, to assist with any local, boots-on-the-ground response that’s needed,” Edge said.
The company is also extending its fiber-optic connectivity to 13 Aleutian, Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island communities, as well as 13 Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta communities.
“These are challenging, long-term projects, but the benefits are enormous, particularly in communities like Deering and Kivalina that were limited to satellite service only,” said GCI Senior Vice President of Corporate Development Billy Wailand. “With each new launch, we are one step closer to closing the digital divide in rural Alaska.”