GCI delivers access to 2.5 gig residential internet speeds to 80% of Alaskans
Anchorage, United States – GCI is closing the digital divide across Alaska with new consumer plans that are often faster than those offered by internet service providers in the lower 48. From Alaska’s urban centres to remote rural hubs, GCI residential customers in communities connected to GCI’s fibre-optic backbone can now get 2.5 gig (that’s 2,500 Mbps) internet speeds.
Customers with GCI’s top tier plan aren’t the only ones to benefit. In fact, GCI has increased the speeds of all its residential internet plans available in those areas and is tripling the number of unlimited data options for customers with GCI+.
GCI has been a speed provider in Alaska, launching 1 gig in 2015, 2 gig in 2021 and now increasing speeds to 2.5 gig in 2023. Because of GCI’s investment in its network over the past 40 years, more than [$4 billion (€3.66 billion)], 2,500 Mbps speeds are available in communities across the state: Anchorage, Eagle River, Eielson AFB, Fairbanks, Fort Greely, Fort Wainwright, Girdwood, Homer, Juneau, Kenai, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Kotzebue, Nome, North Pole, Palmer, Petersburg, Seward, Sitka, Soldotna, Unalaska, Valdez, Wasilla. Even the tiny remote town of Wrangell Alaska, population 2,055, will have access to 2.5 gig speeds.
“GCI is bringing 2.5 gig internet speeds to Alaska’s state capital, its largest city, remote Aleutian fishing communities, and all the way north of the Arctic Circle in one fell swoop,” says GCI chief communications officer Heather Handyside. “And with faster speeds, we know our customers will want more unlimited data options. Guess what, Alaska? We’ve got that, too!”
GCI+ combines Alaska’s fast internet and unlimited mobile service with plans starting at just $99.99 per month. Upgrades for speed and unlimited usage are available at three additional levels.
The company plans to launch the service in two more communities, King Cove and Sand Point, by the end of 2023 through its Aleutians Fibre Project and nine additional communities in the region in the coming years. GCI, in partnership with Bethel Native Corporation, also plans to bring the new service to 10 Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta communities as part of the AIRRAQ Network project.
“The good news just keeps coming for our Aleutians Fibre Project communities,” says GCI rural affairs director Jenifer Nelson. “When we first announced the project back in 2020 we promised to deliver 1 gig internet speeds, then it was 2 gig, and now we’re up to 2.5 gig internet speeds! When broadband comes to the region, people are not only going to be able to access everything that it offers and have the world at their fingertips, but they’re also going to be able to bring themselves and their culture and their experiences and their economies to the rest of the world. It’s truly going to be transformative.”
In 2021, GCI was among the first providers in the nation to commit to bringing 10 gig to its customers. The launch of 2.5 gig internet service is GCI’s latest step on its road to 10 gig in the next few years.
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