GCI’s 2020 Anchorage 5G project is more than 94% complete
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – GCI’s 2020 Anchorage 5G network upgrade project is nearly complete! Customers throughout the city are already reaping the benefits, experiencing faster data speeds than ever before. GCI expects to bring the final towers online by early fall.
GCI’s Hometown project has not only delivered the first standards-based 5G network to Anchorage but has also improved 4G LTE speeds for all GCI wireless customers across the city. That means GCI customers don’t need a 5G phone to get the benefits of GCI’s next generation network upgrades. When the 5G wireless project is completed, every sector of each cell site will be outfitted with five radios to utilize GCI’s low-band and mid-band radio spectrum, driving massive improvements in speed and coverage, particularly in-building coverage. GCI’s fiber network, the backbone of the project, will deliver broadband connectivity to each of the upgraded cell sites.
“Delivering the newest generation of wireless technology in the Last Frontier isn’t short on challenges, especially during COVID-19, but our team has proven themselves more than up for the task,” said Chris Galipeau, Senior Director of GCI Wireless Network & Switch Operations. “We’ve worked hard to ensure that GCI was able to safely and efficiently deliver Alaska’s first 5G service to its customers.”
GCI has made significant investment in Anchorage over the past two years and essentially reinvented the Anchorage wireless network to deliver seamless data connectivity to Alaskans. GCI’s new, vastly more capable network will operate five times faster than before, and it will serve as the blueprint for GCI’s network modernization efforts in other Alaska cities.
Over the past 40 years, GCI has invested more than $3 billion to deliver communications services throughout Alaska. GCI employs 2,000 Alaskans and serves more than 200 communities across the state.
For more information about GCI and its 5G network, visit https://www.gci.com/mobile/5g.
About GCI
GCI provides data, mobile, video, voice and managed services to consumer and business customers throughout Alaska. GCI has delivered services for more than 40 years to some of the most remote communities and in some of the most challenging conditions in North America. Learn more about GCI at www.gci.com. GCI is a wholly owned subsidiary of GCI Liberty, Inc. (Nasdaq: GLIBA, GLIBP). Learn more about GCI Liberty at www.gciliberty.com.