GCI’s Ron Duncan & Greg Chapados named to Cablefax 100

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Telecom trade publication Cablefax has recognized GCI CEO and Co-Founder Ron Duncan and Chief Operating Officer Greg Chapados as two of the industry’s most-influential executives. The Cablefax 100 award acknowledges industry leaders who have grown their organizations through the COVID-19 pandemic, rising inflation, an influx of streaming services, and general uncertainty without ever dropping the ball.

“There’s the rural divide, and then there’s Alaska,” the Cablefax article stated. “While operators work to bring broadband to remote parts of the contiguous U.S., Duncan and Chapados have practically moved mountains to make sure the Last Frontier isn’t just served, but super-served.”

The past year has been chock full of success and progress for GCI, Alaska’s largest telecommunications company. In November 2021, the company launched 2 gig service to 80% of Alaskans, including the addition of the rural Alaska communities of Nome and Kotzebue to its multi-gigabit internet speed footprint. GCI also made substantial progress on its AU-Aleutians Fiber Project, which will launch 2 gig internet speeds for residential customers in Unalaska by the end of 2022 and five other communities in the coming years.

“Ron and Greg represent the best in our industry and membership as they lead their committed team to do the very hard work of delivering broadband to some of the most remote and challenging landscapes in the world,” said ACA Connects President & CEO Matthew Polka, who nominated the pair for the honor. “But they know all Alaskans deserve the very best broadband no matter where they live, and Ron, Greg and the GCI team deliver it every day.”

When asked to reflect on the industry, both Duncan and Chapados commented on the digital divide, what it means in Alaska, and what it will take to close it.

"GCI has been working to close the digital divide for more than 40 years — before people even knew the term 'digital divide,'" said Duncan. "What we forget when we look at the digital divide is that it is not a static target. It’s constantly moving because technology is constantly evolving. When I look back over the last 43 years, I’m proud of how much we’ve accomplished. When we first started the data business in Alaska, our high-speed modem was 256 Kbps and now we’re at 2 Gbps for consumer-level services. That’s incredible progress."

"If you want to close the rural-urban digital divide, you need to think big - really big - whenever possible, and push the technology, whether it’s fiber or microwave or something else, to its maximum," said Chapados. "I’m incredibly proud that in 2021, GCI brought 2 Gig cable modem service to two remote rural regional hubs in Alaska – Nome and Kotzebue. Stay tuned. There’s a lot more to come."

To read more about the 2022 Cablefax 100 honorees, visit https://www.cablefax.com/event/cablefax-100-2022.

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.