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Latest Internet and Telecom

A commercial bowpicker is seen headed out of the Cordova harbor for a salmon fishing opener in June 2024 (Photo by Corinne Smith)

News

Planned fiber-optic cable will add backup for Alaska’s phone and high-speed internet network

The project is expected to bring more reliable connection to some isolated coastal communities.

Paul Myers takes a business phone call while stopped in Haines on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)

News

Staying connected on the Columbia

The fastest and largest vessel in the fleet is testing public Wi-Fi

The Cable Innovator docks in Juneau on Wednesday, March 13, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

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Subsea communications cable repair ship makes port stop in Juneau between Southeast projects

Cable Innovator wraps up work in Sitka, now heads for Angoon following regional outage.

The Cable Innovator, seen docked in Port Angeles, Washington, in May 2022, is scheduled to arrive in Sitka on Monday afternoon. It repaired a subsea communications cable in the vicinity last September and is being tasked with repairing further cable system damage that has knocked out phone and internet service to much of Southeast Alaska. (Creative Commons/DeVos Max)

News

Some phone and internet services get temporary fix as cable repair ship heads for Southeast Alaska

Same vessel that repaired damage near Sitka last September scheduled to arrive there Monday.

A portable FirstNet cell tower to provide ATT service is set up in the parking lot of the Juneau Arts and Culture Center on Friday afternoon following a widespread phone and internet outage that began Thursday night. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Phone and internet outage in Southeast continues Saturday with restoration timeline unknown

ACS says it is working on emergency fix after subsea cable damage; next update scheduled at 10 a.m.…

A portable FirstNet cell tower to provide ATT service is set up in the parking lot of the Juneau Arts and Culture Center on Friday afternoon following a widespread phone and internet outage that began Thursday night. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

Update: Damage to subsea cable system severs phone, internet to much of Southeast; repair time unknown

CBJ regains online access, but phones still out; mixed connectivity elsewhere in town.

Kari Cravens, of Ashmo’s food truck in Sitka, takes cash from Jacil Lee, a cruise ship passenger stopping in town last week. Many business owners in Sitka are unable to accept credit and debit cards amid an outage in most phone and internet communications. (Sitka Sentinel, republished with permission)

News

In internet-less Sitka, it’s both ‘mayhem’ and a ‘golden moment’

Surgeries on hold and businesses are cash-only, but more people are talking and sharing stories.

Sitkans sit in the lobby of city hall on Saturday as they use the city’s satellite connection to the internet with their cell phones. (Sitka Sentinel photo)

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Sitka loses internet service, GCI says repair could take two weeks

Help expected with loan of Starlink satellite equipment by Tlingit and Haida.

People explore downtown Juneau on July 26, 2024. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire file photo)

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Free Starlink service, upgraded telecom network seek to resolve downtown internet and phone issues

Slow internet during busy cruise days “number one complaint from this summer,” Goldbelt CEO says.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a new round of funding for rural broadband loans and grants. (Image by John Lamb/Getty Images)

News

Alaska gets nearly $100M from USDA for rural broadband

Hoonan/Angoon area among three statewide areas getting fiber and wireless connections.

A recently released map by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration shows the vast areas of low data speeds and access by broadband users across Alaska and the rest of the U.S. (Screenshot)

News

White House laying groundwork for improved internet infrastructure

In Alaska, providers are looking at their own improvments to access.

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News

Damage to undersea cable leads to widespread communication outages

Services have been restored via other cables, and a repair ship is deployed to fix the breakage.