Millions in federal grants awarded for rural Alaska internet

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — More than $100 million in grants have been announced by the federal government as part of a major effort to close the digital divide in parts of rural Alaska. The grants include $73 million for a partnership between the Alaska Native village corporation for Bethel, Bethel Native Corporation, and telecommunications company GCI. The statement said the project would bring “2 gigabit internet speeds and affordable plans to more than 10,000 Alaskans.” Separately, another telecommunications company, Alaska Communications and Calista Corp., the Alaska Native regional corporation for much of southwest Alaska, will receive a grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to bring high-speed fiber internet to more than 2,300 Alaskans in seven other villages in the Bethel region, the organizations announced recently. Calista Corp. and Alaska Communications applied for about $52 million but a specific funding award had not been announced by the federal government as of Monday, said Thom Leonard, a Calista spokesperson. Earlier this year, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced a $50 million grant to provide fiber-optic cable to about 20 villages in Alaska’s Interior as part of a collaboration between Doyon Inc., an Alaska Native corporation, and Alaska Communications.