Here's how GCI is navigating fiber in Alaska’s most remote communities

The Alaskan landscape is rife with broadband accessibility and deployment challenges, which GCI is all too familiar with. The operator recently reached a milestone with its AU-Aleutians fiber project, turning up 2-gig service in the city of Unalaska in December 2022. Billy Wailand, SVP of GCI Corporate Development, and GCI Chief Communications Officer Heather Handyside delved into the geographical and logistical constraints that came with undertaking the roughly $60 million project. Though Unalaska is an active fishing port, it’s also one of the most remote communities in the US, said Handyside. Flights to the region are unreliable and it’s inaccessible by road from the Alaskan mainland. GCI kicked off the AU-Aleutians project back in 2020, aiming to bring high-speed internet to a dozen Aleutian, Alaska Peninsula, and Kodiak Island communities. These communities vary in size, with Wailand noting some have fewer than 100 year-round residents, though the Aleutian areas will typically receive an influx of people during the fishing season. The AU-Aleutians project is partially funded by a $25 million US Department of Agriculture (USDA) ReConnect grant, with GCI covering the rest of the cost with its own capital. For the project in Port Lions, the operator obtained nearly $30 million from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Tribal Broadband Connectivity program (TBCP). Federal funding – particularly from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) – really got the ball rolling for building out to remote communities, as Wailand noted it’s generally difficult to make a business case for investing millions of dollars to service 500 and 600-person villages. Another project GCI is undertaking is with Bethel Native Corporation to bring 2-gig fiber to 10 communities in Alaska’s Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. The operator is leveraging a $42 million grant from the NTIA and $31 million from ReConnect to construct the 405-mile Airraq fiber network.