Improvements to wireless phone and internet access in downtown Juneau, which has been problematic during record cruise ship traffic the past two summers, are being made through a series of recently announced industry and municipal government projects.
The most recent announcement on Thursday is free Starlink high-speed internet access will be available downtown during the coming weeks through a partnership between the Royal Caribbean Group and Goldbelt Inc. GCI announced upgrades to its network capacity last week, and the City and Borough of Juneau is spending $1 million in marine passenger fees to provide free public Wi-Fi downtown.
“Between the CBJ downtown WiFi project, (cell phone providers) increasing network capacity, and today’s announcement from Goldbelt and RCI, I am very hopeful we will no longer have connectivity problems when ships are in town,” CBJ Tourism Manager Alexandra Pierce wrote in a text message Thursday.
A request for proposals for the CBJ Wi-Fi network is expected to be published soon, Pierce noted.
Happening sooner is what’s described as a pilot program to provide Starlink service, which “begins this week at the Goldbelt Tram Lower Terminal and will continue north on Franklin Street as the pilot program’s full range becomes active in the coming weeks,” according to a press release issued Thursday by Royal Caribbean and Goldbelt.
“The number one complaint from this summer was a slow-down of internet speed during busy days downtown,” said McHugh Pierre, Goldbelt’s president and CEO, in a prepared statement. “We are excited to collaborate with Royal Caribbean Group to explore a solution and add satellite internet capacity to town. This project will help locals and visitors have a better internet experience every day of the week.”
People will be able to access the Starlink service by “by logging on at participating businesses across downtown Juneau,” according to the release. Inquires by the Empire to a spokesperson about what people will have to do or provide to obtain login information did not receive a reply with specific details as of Thursday afternoon.
“The pilot program will be monitored closely to assess its impact and effectiveness,” the release states. “Feedback from local businesses and their patrons will be invaluable in refining and potentially expanding the initiative to other destinations in the future.”
Starlink Services LLC provides its namesake internet service via 6,000 small satellites in low-Earth orbit, and has been called revolutionary for the access it is providing distant parts of rural Alaska since launching in the state in 2022. GCI told the Anchorage Daily News earlier this month the company is working on two subsurface fiber optic cables to provide service to 27 underserved communities in Southwest Alaska and the Interior.
GCI also announced, in a press release last Wednesday, the completion of upgrades in Southeast Alaska to “some of the region’s busiest cruise ship ports, including Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan and Petersburg.” The upgrades include the launch of four 5G wireless sites in Juneau.
“The difference should be especially noticeable during cruise ship season, with the upgrades largely alleviating wireless network congestion sometimes experienced while cruise ships are in port,” GCI Chief Customer Experience Officer Maureen McCabe Moore said in a prepared statement.
AT&T, in a May report, stated it also has been engaged in a multiyear effort investing “nearly $250 million in our network infrastructure from 2019-2023.”
Alaska Communications, an email Thursday, stated it plans to provide “downtown Juneau and Douglas Island with high-speed, fiber-like fixed wireless service by the end of 2024.”
“Fixed wireless is more reliable than satellite and our service offers unlimited data and won’t have the significant up-front costs for hardware like direct-to-consumer satellite options,” the email states.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
