GCI is proud to be Alaska born and raised. We were founded in 1979 to provide Alaskans a competitive choice in communications services and deploy modern communications technology throughout the Last Frontier.
Under the guidance of our founder, GCI’s 2,300 dedicated employees have worked hard to do just that. We’ve invested nearly $3 billion dollars to build the most extensive and advanced communications network infrastructure in Alaska. Just last week, we launched 1 Gigabit Internet service in Juneau.
Our fiber and microwave networks provide terrestrial broadband service in both urban and rural regions. We operate Alaska’s only statewide mobile wireless network. We serve every region of the state, including remote communities that no other provider is willing to serve.
GCI and its employees also give back every day to the communities in which we live. For years, GCI has supported signature Alaska events like the Iditarod and the Juneau Innovation Summit and key non-profit organizations like the United Way and the Alaska Academic Decathlon. Our employees spend thousands of hours volunteering for civic and charitable events.
To sum it all up: GCI is all in on Alaska. Nearly all of our employees live in Alaska. Nearly all of our revenues are generated in our home state. When the Alaska economy weakens, GCI, our employees, our customers, and all Alaskans suffer together.
The decline in oil prices and oil-related economic activity, coupled with the associated cutback in the State of Alaska’s capital budget, threaten to push Alaska into a recession. The decisions the Governor and the Alaska State Legislature make this year will have a profound impact on the economic outlook for the state.
That is the reason GCI helped organize the Alaska’s Future coalition, which includes business, labor, and community leaders across the state. Working together, the Governor and Alaska lawmakers can use the most potent weapon we have against the massive and growing state budget deficit. Using a portion of the Permanent Fund’s earnings in a carefully structured way as part of the deficit solution will help insure the long-term sustainability of the Fund and the dividend checks that Alaska families receive annually.
GCI is proud to join the other members of the Alaska’s Future coalition, economic development organizations like the City and Borough of Juneau, the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation and the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce, and leading Alaska economists in calling for decisive action this year on a budget deficit solution so that we can head off a truly destructive recession.
We can do this. All of us who love Alaska and depend on Alaska’s economy for our livelihood can join together to work with our elected officials to ensure a vibrant future for our state.
• Greg Chapados is the Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer for GCI.
