Akutan, a town along the Aleutian Islands with about 100 year-round residents, is now connected to 5G wireless service as part of the GCI Aleutian Fiber Project.
Earlier this year, Akutan became the fourth Aleutian community to receive the Anchorage-based telecommunications company’s 2.5 gigabit consumer internet connection, joining Unalaska, Sandpoint and King Cove. Many Akutan residents also use satellite-based internet services such as Starlink. Community members will now have access to high-speed mobile connectivity in addition to residential and satellite connections.
“When we talk about the importance of bridging the digital divide and how transformative these technologies can be, it’s communities like Akutan that we think of,” Jennifer Nelson, GCI director of rural affairs, said in a press release.
Planning for the first phase of the Aleutian Islands Fiber Project, a $100 million project partially funded by the USDA Rural Development’s ReConnect program, began in 2017. Unalaska is the first community to come online at the end of 2022. Construction in Akutan began in November. Next to be connected are Chignik Bay and Larsen Bay.
Construction has begun in Ouzinkee and Port Lions as part of the project’s second phase, which will also bring high-speed internet to Chignik Lagoon, Chignik Lake, Cold Bay and False Pass.
