Alaska Company Wins $25.3 Million Broadband Stimulus Grant

Among the winners of broadband stimulus funds is Alaska-based Sea Lion Management Group, partnered with Colorado-based Rivada Networks. The two companies secured $25.3 million from the Rural Utilities Service to bring high-speed wireless connectivity to 44 impoverished communities in southwestern Alaska.

Many of the homes in those communities lack access to water and sewer systems. Residents use outhouses and haul water manually from a central location. Some of the villages are not connected to main roads and are usually accessed by small airplanes. The area covers 90,000 square miles and is home to 29,886 villagers. The broadband project will deploy satellite technology and a mesh network of wireless nodes to deliver services to residents and government institutions, like schools and libraries. Subscriptions will cost roughly $30 per month, and Pfeffer said Sea Lion was confident it could attract enough business to sustain the network financially. She declined to specify the number of subscriptions Sea Lion and Rivada Networks would need to reach that sustainability.