Broadband in Rural Alaska is Behind the Times

The Federal Communications Commission regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable in the US, Districts of Columbia, and other US territories. Every year they set new benchmarks for how fast Internet speeds should be, usually increasing by 25 Mbps per year. But there are many rural areas in Alaska, where the Internet speeds lag behind most of the nation.

According to the FCC report, nearly 81% of residents in rural Alaska lack access to modern broadband services. Many rural Alaskans rely on satellite Internet to stay connected, even most schools have their roofs decked out with satellites. But with speeds at an average of 4 Mbps, many students have difficulty keeping up with classwork and current events.

Although there is an initiative to bring broadband to support education, health and businesses, Internet for residents can remain quite slow. The Alaska Broadband Task Force released a report that said about $1 billion will be needed if the state wants to reach 100 megabits per second by 2020. By that time, speeds all around the country will have increased to 10x the amount it is today.

At Speedify, we think more currently. What is it that we can do now that will help you? Well, we’d like to share our services with those in Alaska! Do you have GCI, MTA, Alaska Communications and/or another network connection, including business Internet? Speedify helps users bond their networks for a boosted speed and more reliable connection. If you have multiple satellite connections, Speedify will bond your connections to give you a stronger and faster connection. If you’re a resident in Alaska who deals with slow Internet speeds on the daily, follow this link to set up your Speedify account today!