Why Does Alaska Need Broadband Development?
Did you know the majority of small communities in Alaska have no access to broadband? This unserved population is estimated at 60,000 people. Another 200,000 Alaskans are underserved, with low-end broadband that fails to exceed 10/1 Mbps (megabits per second). Overall, 194 Alaskan communities have been identified as unserved or underserved.
The Alaska Broadband Office has a plan for expanding services over the next five years to serve these individuals. But the questions remain: How many workers are needed? And where will the workforce come from?
Alaska’s internet infrastructure is currently inadequate to deliver reliable, fast, and affordable service to unserved and underserved homes and businesses in rural areas.
In rural areas, only anchor institutions now receive highly subsidized broadband service. When students cannot physically attend school and they can’t afford high-priced service at home, they cannot pursue an education. Physical isolation can translate into social isolation.
Telemedicine is also a tremendous challenge and generally not available in unserved and underserved rural areas. Many rural communities do not have local doctors or specialists, so no broadband means no healthcare.
The Alaska broadband infrastructure map above shows much of Alaska is without broadband service (Areas in white or light red are unserved or underserved).
Making statewide broadband available everywhere in rural Alaska now is critical so unserved and underserved populations can be educated, healthy, employed, and connected to friends and family. Broadband has become as essential as water, heat, and electricity.
Unserved or Underserved? See for Yourself. Report your Findings.
FCC Service
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has published the Broadband Fabric Map to allow all Alaskans to submit challenges to locations and to service levels. If your address is not on the map, find the nearest village, community, town, or city, and scroll into where your location is, then click on where your house is located. This will bring up latitude and longitude with a blue button that reads “Challenge Location”. Click on the “Challenge Location” button and it will bring up a form. Fill out the form and click “Submit” at the bottom. Watch the video HERE, if you have questions about how to submit a challenge.
Internet Speed
Curious how fast your internet is? The Alaska Broadband Office is asking Alaskans to run an internet speed test on their home devices to see how real internet download and upload speeds vary locally. To run the speed test, click on the button below.
To submit your speed test, take a screenshot of the results and email it to us along with your zip code. Any questions or submissions should be sent to: ced.abo.networkfeedback@alaska.gov
Mobile Wireless
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is currently verifying the accuracy and reliability of mobile broadband coverage nationwide.
Learn more about downloading the FCC Speed Test App to your mobile device by clicking on the button below.
For many in Alaska, especially those in unserved and underserved areas, barriers to connectivity remain. The ALASKA BROADBAND OFFICE (ABO) of the Alaska State Department of Commerce works to remove those barriers. ABO develops equitable policies and programs that will significantly expand access to fast, affordable, and reliable internet service, providing all residents and businesses of Alaska with the economic and social benefits of broadband access. Click on the areas in the list below to review the most severely underserved areas in Alaska.
Broadband Audits Top Underserved Areas in Alaska 2020-2022.
Top 50 Unserved Cities
Top 29 Unserved Counties
Top 50 Unserved Tribal Areas