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GCI reveals landmark commitment to bring 10 gig internet speeds to Alaska, will deliver 2 gig in 2022
'It will be our turn, once again, to wait for the rest of the country to catch up' ANCHORAGE, Alaska, May 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- GCI, Alaska's largest
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[{"type":"text","content":"'It will be our turn, once again, to wait for the rest of the country to catch up'\n\n\nANCHORAGE, Alaska, May 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- GCI, Alaska's largest telecommunications company and leader in technology and connectivity, announced today it will deliver 2 gig internet access to 77% of Alaskans in 2022 and is on track to provide 10 gig speeds in the next five years. GCI will be the first in the state, and among the first in the country, to make 2 gig widely available to customers, highlighting its commitment to expand and improve connectivity in Alaska. \nGCI was among the first companies in the nation to make 1 gig service broadly available to customers when it launched 1 GIG red service in Anchorage in 2015, quadrupling customer speeds. The company rapidly expanded access to 1 gig service, and today 77% of Alaskans live within GCI's 1 gig footprint.\n\"When I started GCI more than 40 years ago, Alaska lagged far behind the rest of the nation in basic connectivity,\" said GCI CEO Ron Duncan. \"Today I'm pleased to announce that when upgrades are complete in 2022, Alaska will lead the nation in 2 gig speeds. And it will be our turn, once again, to wait for the rest of the country to catch up.\" \nAlaska communities that currently have access to GCI's 1 gig service will be the first to experience 2 gig service when it becomes available. Customers on GCI+ red plans will automatically be upgraded to 2 gig service, doubling their current speeds at no additional cost. The Alaska communities that will have access to 2 gig speeds when the service launches next year include: \nAnchorage\nEagle River\nGirdwood\nFairbanks\nFort Greely\nHomer\nJuneau\nKenai\nKetchikan\nKodiak\nNorth Pole\nPalmer\nPetersburg\nSeward\nSoldotna\nSitka\nValdez\nWasilla\nWrangell\nAdditional Alaska communities will soon be on the upgrade list. GCI will launch 1 gig service in Nome and Kotzebue in 2021, and as part of the company's ambitious AU-Aleutians Fiber Project, will deliver 1 gig speeds to the remote Western Alaska communities of Unalaska, King Cove, Akutan, Sand Point, Chignik Bay and Larsen Bay. GCI's 2 gig speeds will be available in these communities in a future phase of the upgrade project.\n\"Nome, Kotzebue and communities in the Aleutians are among the most remote in the nation, but will soon have urban-level internet comparable to Anchorage,...