Alaska broadband company MTA says FTTH costs $9,000 per passing

If there are any telephone companies in the US that are experts at closing the digital divide it’s the ones in Alaska. The state encompasses 663,267 square miles, which is more than Texas, California and Montana combined. And Alaska’s MTA has been connecting citizens of the state for over 70 years, so it has a lot of experience. MTA is a cooperative where its customers are also its owners. Michael Burke, CEO of MTA, said the company covers broadband subscribers across 10,000 square miles, which is about the same size as the state of Maryland, but with less than 2% population density. Although the Alaska Telephone Company, which won the US Department of Agriculture's ReConnect grant in 2022 quoted the cost to run fiber at $204,000 per passing. Burke said MTA's cost is closer to $9,000 to $10,000 per passing. Burke said MTA will apply for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment grants, but “It’s more just continuing to do fiber-to-the-home builds and upgrades.”