High-speed fiber-optic internet is live in Bethel. It’s part of a years-long tribal broadband project – a partnership between telecommunications provider GCI and Bethel Native Corporation.
The AIRRAQ project has promised to bring cheaper, faster internet to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta through hundreds of miles of underwater and overland fiber-optic internet cables.
For example, Bethel customers who used to pay around $100 per month for 60 gigabytes of data can now switch to a monthly plan for the same price that has more than quadruple the data, and download speeds that are 25 times faster than what was previously available.
GCI said that their team has spent the past few days connecting customers who pre-ordered the new AIRRAQ internet service.
Beginning tomorrow, May 14, anyone in Bethel will be able to stop by the local GCI office to transfer phone and internet service to the fiber-based plans, which run at the same prices as Anchorage and other areas where GCI offers fiber internet. GCI said that that their retail team will also be contacting internet customers to help them move to the new, faster plans. The local Bethel GCI store will also have extended hours on Saturdays, beginning May 17.
Before the launch of the AIRRAQ fiber internet project went live, GCI’s internet network consisted of a hybrid microwave and fiber network known as TERRA.
The project has been funded by over $100 million in federal tribal broadband grants. Future phases of the project that would extend up the coast of Western Alaska may be in question after the Trump administration has proposed cutting funding for broadband connectivity programs.
