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- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Economic Development
Four Native communities on Kodiak Island will have access to high-speed internet through a new partnership between Old Harbor Native Corporation and Alaska Communications.
The companies will use a Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to build a broadband network serving the Alaska Native communities of Old harbor, Chiniak, Akhiok, and Women’s Bay. The project will be funded as part of a $162 million award to expand internet use on tribal lands that was announced on Jan. 16 by the Commerce Department.
The initiative, named Project Nunapet, will install 155 miles of subsea fiber optic cable from Homer to Kodiak Island, making landfall in Ouzinkie and traveling around the island’s eastern coast. The project will also deploy a last-mile fiver network offering gigabit speeds to 570 homes.
"This grant award is exciting for the future of Kodiak Archipelago communities," Kristina Woolston, CEO of Old Harbor Native Corporation, said in a statement. "The Nunapet Project will fund critical communications infrastructure for remote Kodiak Island communities to improve access, reliability and affordability."
"Affordable high-speed internet has been a long-desired goal for the rural communities of Kodiak Island," said Paul Fenaroli, president and CEO of Alaska Communications. He said reliable, high-speed connectivity will serve as the foundation for education, healthcare, economic growth, and quality of life in the Kodiak Archipelago.
"It can’t be said enough – if you don’t have access to reliable high-speed internet, you’re falling behind in today’s world. Every Alaskan should have that access and today’s announcement takes us one step closer to that goal,” U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said in a statement.
The network expansion aims to eliminate the digital divide for residents in these communities and improve broadband service across the Kodiak Archipelago region.
