The small Aleutian village of Akutan is now connected to GCI’s high-speed fiber internet.
Akutan residents now have access to 2.5 gig internet speeds, according to a Tuesday press release from GCI. That’s the fastest internet the Alaska-based telecommunications company currently offers. The company is working to bump that cap up to 10 gigs in the next few years through its Fiber+ network, which is an initiative to continue to provide competitive internet speeds across Alaska.
Akutan, a community of fewer than 100 residents, sits about 750 miles southwest of Anchorage and is home to the nation’s largest fish processing plant. Many folks in the community already have access to satellite-based internet services, like Starlink.
These broadband connections have helped close the digital divide between urban and rural Alaska. They allow better education and work opportunities, and improve healthcare for communities without hospitals or full-time doctors.
Crews started construction in Akutan late last year. Company officials said the project came with some unique challenges, like hand digging some of the trenches for the cables.
“Trenching by hand is a very time-consuming process, especially in the spring when it’s still cold outside,” said GCI Project Manager Jerry Walker. “Overcoming challenges is just a part of working in remote areas.”
Unalaska, Sand Point and King Cove are already hooked up to the 800-mile subsea fiber cable. Chignik Bay and Larsen Bay are next in line to be connected through the first phase of the Aleutians Fiber Project, a $100 million project partially funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development’s ReConnect Program.
