AU-ALEUTIANS FIBER PROJECT

Unalaska is officially connected to high speed fiber internet, but not everyone on the island has access to the new service.GCI connected its first customers in December, and now, Rural Affairs Director Jenifer Nelson said around 200 homes in the community of about 4,500 year-round residents are turned on and either actively using the fiber broadband or ready to start service.

GCI connected its first Unalaska residential customers to its fastest 2 gig internet speeds this week. And while some Unalaskans now have access to that fiber connection, most community members will have to wait until the new year before logging on.That timeframe is a little later than the telecommunications company had hoped — GCI had been planning for a launch by the end of the year. But for the majority of the island, that service is still weeks away. The company announced Thursday that its island-wide launch of high-speed internet will be rolled out in a “phased approach” and won’t likely happen until mid-January.

The telecommunications company has spent over two years working on an underwater fiber optic cable along the Aleutian Chain, and were weeks away from launching service in Unalaska when the cable was damaged in Unalaska Bay.

The 800-mile fiber optic project had just passed a huge milestone earlier this month, when the company ran their first test and successfully brought connectivity to Unalaska. But on Monday, mere weeks away from the official launch, something damaged the cable.

The moment many Unalaskans have been waiting years for is just around the corner: fast and affordable high speed internet has made its way to the island and is about to get booted up.GCI has been working since the spring of 2020 to bring fiber optic broadband to the region through its Aleutians Fiber project. And now, two and a half years later, the initial cable tests are finished and things are about to “get lit,” according to the telecommunications company.

Work has started to lay 800 miles of subsea cable that project engineers say will bring high speed internet to Unalaska and Akutan by the end of the year.

Nearly 2,000 tons of subsea fiber has begun the journey from Europe to Alaska and its eventual home on the ocean floor along the Aleutian Chain. The fiber — which is the foundation of GCI’s 800-mile Aleutians Fiber Project — would close the digital divide and bring high speed internet to homes in some of the most remote communities in the nation, including Unalaska.

GCI crews began construction in Unalaska Tuesday in preparation to bring fiber optic broadband to the island.

An Alaska-based telecommunications company says it's reached a major milestone in its mission to bring Unalaskans improved digital connectivity through a…

Unalaskans could see a significant boost in internet service by late 2022, if GCI completes work to lay fiber cable as planned. The telecommunications…