Alaska communications systems: focusing on broadband and managed it services to keep customers connected.

• Author: Orr, Vanessa
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION: Corporate 100 - Company overview

It's strange to think that a communications company that is on the cutting-edge of technology has actually been serving the needs of Alaskans for more than 120 years, but that's exactly the case with Alaska Communications Systems.

Historic Telecom

One of only three publicly traded companies headquartered in Alaska, Alaska Communications can trace its origins back to the Juneau-Douglas Telephone Company, which was established in 1893. And while the company does have an operations center in Oregon that employs about thirty people, almost all of its business is in the 49th state, as are its eight hundred-plus employees.

"We serve large portions of the state, including all of the larger population centers like Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, and the Kenai Peninsula, as well as provide service for fifty bush communities," explains Alaska Communications President and CEO Anand Vadapalli. "We also serve several healthcare and education organizations in a number of rural communities in partnership with Alaska Native corporations. We have one of the largest footprints in Alaska in urban, rural, and bush communities."

The communications provider serves both residential and business customers, generating more than $200 million in annual revenue with approximately 55 percent coming from business customers.

More Choices

Alaska Communications provides four product lines which include voice communications and Internet connectivity for both residential and business customers. Business customers can also take advantage of data networking, which enables securely connecting two or more locations, and IT and managed services solutions.

"As we look forward over the next several years, we believe that we will see the most growth from the business sector in Alaska, from small businesses to large enterprises," says Vadapalli. "We expect to grow rapidly in the broadband and managed IT service areas; these provide a lot of value to our customers, so that's where our focus will be."

To this end, Alaska Communications will be investing between $35 million and $40 million in broadband and IT services this year and plans to offer new products, including high-speed broadband and voice over Internet. In December 2014, the company announced it was selling its wireless customer base and wireless assets to GCI for $300 million in order to better concentrate on these areas of growth.

"There are more choices for wireless customers in Alaska than ever before," says Vadapalli...