Alaska is fraught with broadband access and deployment challenges that GCI is all too familiar with. The carrier recently reached a milestone with its AU-Aleutians fiber project, launching 2-gig service in the city of Unalaska in December.
In an interview, Billy Wailand, GCI senior vice president of corporate development, and Heather Handyside, GCI chief communications officer, discussed in depth the geographic and logistical constraints of undertaking the approximately $60 million project.
Handyside said that while Unalaska is an active fishing port, it is also one of the most remote communities in the United States. Flights to the area are unreliable and cannot be reached overland from mainland Alaska.
"From a logistical standpoint, it's a very daunting project," she says. "It's not just the distance and power issues, but even getting the materials there and the crews working there ...... to find the heavy equipment to do what you need to do."
GCI launched the AU-Aleutian Islands project back in 2020 to provide high-speed Internet to a dozen communities in the Aleutian Islands, the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island. Work on Unalaska is now nearing completion, and GCI plans to begin digging in Sand Point and King Cove in April. Through a partnership with the Native Village of Port Lions, future construction will take place in Akutan, Chigni Bay, Larsen Bay and six other communities.
These communities vary in size, Wailand noted, with some having fewer than 100 permanent residents, although the Aleutian Islands region typically sees a large influx of people during fishing season. On the other hand, considering the year-round and transient population, Unalaska has about 5,000 residents.
"There is nothing more challenging than building an 800-mile submarine system along the Aleutian Islands," Wailand said. "Facing everything from seas to storms to earthquakes" and a lack of traffic and connectivity.
In addition, Handyside added, some smaller communities don't have a well-developed process for locating utilities or home addresses. "You have to do more research on the ground and work directly with communities," she said. "Because they don't have the administrative backup to maintain that information."
The AU-Aleutians project was funded in part by a $25 million ReConnect grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with GCI paying the rest with its own funds. For the Port Lions project, the operator received nearly $30 million from NTIA's Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program.
Federal funding - particularly from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act - has really pushed the envelope for remote communities, and as Wailand points out, it is often difficult to make the business case for investing millions of dollars to provide service to villages of 500 and 600 people. It is often difficult to make the business case for investing millions of dollars to provide services to villages of 500 and 600 people.
Weather
Weather can significantly affect the timing of construction in Alaska, depending on the project and its exact location. In any case, "we don't have 12 months to complete the project," Wailand says. "Usually from the time it thaws until the snow starts falling again ...... instead of 12 months, you might have four or five months," and that timeframe usually shortens the construction time for projects farther north. "In some cases, the opposite is true. You can only work in certain tundra areas in mid-winter, when the tundra is completely frozen over," Wailand continues. "You have to figure out when you can take advantage of the right weather, the right conditions to really get out there."
If conditions aren't optimal, it's critical to identify alternative build sites so construction crews aren't hanging around for such a short period of time.
Handyside said, "We have migratory birds, caribou herds ...... and we're not allowed to build while they're migrating." Helicopters are also not allowed to fly over these areas during this time.
Tribal partnerships
Another project GCI is working on is a partnership with Bethel Native Corporation to bring 2-gig fiber to 10 communities in Alaska's Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. The carrier is building a 405-mile Airraq (pronounced eye-huk) fiber network with a $42 million grant from NTIA and $31 million in funding from ReConnect.
Collaboration with tribal entities is a key tenet of GCI's work. Handyside notes that almost half of the U.S. tribal nations are located in Alaska and technicians have received extensive training in homegrown construction protocols. "In some cases, we fly over what is considered sacred land, and our technicians know they can't even look at that area," she said. "We take it very seriously."
Collaboration with tribal entities is a key tenet of GCI's work. Handyside notes that almost half of the U.S. tribal nations are located in Alaska and technicians have received extensive training in homegrown construction protocols. "In some cases, we fly over what is considered sacred land, and our technicians know they can't even look at that area," she said. "We take it very seriously." "When we're operating on protected lands, [construction crews] are not usually allowed to leave this two-acre site that we've protected or allowed," Handyside added.
"When we're working on protected lands, [construction crews] are not typically allowed to leave this two-acre site that we've protected or allowed," Handyside added.
Wailand noted that consultation with tribes and federal agencies played a role in obtaining permits, given the "patchwork" of federal and state lands in Alaska. GCI's permitting team worked with the agency to ensure that the company "completed its project in a thoughtful way that protects the resources we have, from fisheries to animals."
"Frankly, the permitting process can take up half of the entire project timeline," he says. "We've gone through enough of the process now and built a good enough relationship with these agencies ...... that we're able to navigate these systems well."
