Tiny Sand Point, AK (population 648) now has big city speeds and unlimited data plans!
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — It’s official. GCI’s lightning-fast 2.5 gig residential internet service has arrived in Sand Point! Crews hit the ground running in Sand Point in April, building out the local fiber-optic network and connecting it to new subsea fiber, deployed in 2022 as part of GCI’s Aleutians Fiber Project. With the launch of 2.5 gig internet in the community, local residents now have access to urban level internet speeds, plans and prices.
“This is a game changer for the residents of Sand Point,” said GCI Chief Marketing Officer Kate Slyker. “Since there’s not a local GCI retail store in the community, we’ll be reaching out directly to folks who signed up to have fiber installed directly to their homes to get them connected to GCI’s 2.5 gig residential internet service as quickly as possible through our mail fulfillment process. To make it even easier, we’ll have sales reps and technicians on the ground in the community in January to assist local residents.”
Sand Point is the second Aleutians Fiber Project community to receive GCI 2.5 gig residential internet service. The service was launched in Unalaska in December 2022. Crews are currently in the final stages of preparing King Cove for 2.5 gig internet speeds and kicked off construction in early November in Akutan.
“I’m very proud of our teams and the work they have done over the last several months to effectively close the digital divide in yet another remote Alaska community,” said GCI Principal Program Manager Rebecca Markley. “With work wrapped up in Sand Point and in the final stages in King Cove, we’re making consistent and significant progress with GCI’s Aleutians Fiber Project to bring digital equity to the region.”
The first phase of the more than $100 million project is partially funded by a $27.5 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.
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.