Bringing fast, reliable broadband to rural Alaska could cost $1.8 billion

Biden, Dunleavy, Hoffman and Peltola watch dancers from Ayaprun Elitnaurvik Yup’ik Immersion School perform a blessing song called Tarvarnauramken.

Katie Basile/High Country News

ItIt’s hard to make things better when that kind of infrastructure doesn’t exist or won’t exist because of the challenges of the environment or the place, or because of silly things like, Oh, that’s itThere’s only X number of people there, and thisIt’s not worth the investment, he said.

Hoffman, of the Bethel Native Corporation, said the Bethel community’s turnout for Jill Biden’s visit, about 1,000 people, gave her hope. I think thatThat’s what infrastructure investment in this region does for us, it means usreevaluated, he said. It brings value and others see the value of our presence, our resilience and our perseverance.

We“We are a region filled with rich culture, language, spirituality, history, tradition and we have preserved it over the generations,” said Hoffman. Therethere is a lot of harmony in our region, with our relationships with each other and with our environment. Others around the world will appreciate the wisdom that is here, for it will be shared once we have the means to do so.

People lined up for hours awaiting appearances by first lady Jill Biden, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Rep. Mary Peltola at the Bethel Regional High School gymnasium.

Katie Basile/High Country News

Alaska’s vastness and rugged landscape, large distances between communities, and the state’s small population of only about 730,000 people have made affordable high-speed broadband delivery an overwhelming and costly task. The State Broadband Office estimates that it would cost $1.8 billion to provide broadband to the nearly 200 communities across Alaska that lack access to high-speed Internet.

The Lower Kuskokwim School District, which includes Bethel, is the largest rural school district in the state in terms of students served. In 2020, an estimated 15 percent of its students had internet access at home, said Kimberly Hankins, district superintendent. Bringing fiber optic internet to the region would mean better connectivity for students and staff and higher quality remote learning. With the slower internet, we are unable to take full advantage of online learning tools and materials, so I look forward to that being more of a reality for us, Hankins said.

 

I truly believe this will be a game changer for economic development in rural Alaska.