Construction crews in final stretch to prepare Sand Point, King Cove for 2.5 gig internet speeds
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Construction crews are quickly closing in on the finish line for work in Sand Point and King Cove. Consumers in the two communities are slated to receive 2.5 gig internet speeds by the end of 2023. Sand Point and King Cove will be the second and third communities to receive urban level speeds and affordable, unlimited data plans as part of GCI’s Aleutians Fiber Project.
Crews in both communities are wrapping up the deployment of mainline fiber running throughout the community and are shifting their focus to the installation of wiring inside local homes and businesses.
“There’s no doubt the Aleutians Fiber Project is ambitious, but we’re going full bore as we work to bring digital equity to the region,” said GCI Principal Program Manager Rebecca Markley. “Our crews have been pushing hard the last several months to install brand new local access networks throughout Sand Point and King Cove and we’re on track to launch 2.5 gig internet speeds to both communities on schedule.”
On-the-ground work in King Cove and Sand Point is expected to be complete by the end of October. After that, GCI teams can work on the final preparations for the launch of 2.5 gig service and finish any final checklist items by the end of the year.
“Bringing urban level speeds, plans and pricing to King Cove and Sand Point are significant milestones for the project, but we’re not stopping there,” said Markley. “Next, our crews will move onto Chignik Bay, Larsen Bay and Akutan as we work to wrap up phase one of the Aleutians Fiber Project.”
GCI’s Aleutians Fiber Project is a two-part project to close the digital divide and bring digital equity to a dozen Aleutian, Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island communities.
The first phase of the $70 million project is partially funded by a $25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development’s ReConnect Program. It includes an 800-mile-long subsea fiber-optic backbone, deployed in 2022, and the delivery of high-speed internet to Unalaska, King Cove, Sand Point, Akutan, Chignik Bay and Larsen Bay.
The second phase of the project leverages the 800-mile subsea fiber to deliver to six more communities in the region. The Native Village of Port Lions, in partnership with GCI, was awarded a $29.3 million grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to bring connectivity to Chignik Lagoon, Chignik Lake, Cold Bay, False Pass, Ouzinkie and Port Lions in the coming years.
For more information about the Aleutians Fiber Project, visit: https://www.gci.com/aleutianfiberproject.
About GCI
Headquartered in Alaska, GCI provides data, mobile, video, voice and managed services to consumer, business, government, and carrier customers throughout Alaska, serving more than 200 communities. The company has invested more than $4 billion in its Alaska network and facilities over the past 40 years and recently launched true standards-based 5G NR service in Anchorage, now the nation’s northernmost 5G service area. Learn more about GCI at www.gci.com. GCI is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Broadband Corporation (Nasdaq: LBRDA, LBRDK, LBRDP). Learn more about Liberty Broadband at http://www.libertybroadband.com.