Communicating across Alaska: New technologies make it easier to link the last frontier.

• Author: Orr, Vanessa

As new technologies are created, communicating across the miles has become even easier. This is even true in Alaska, where small population centers and a huge landmass make traveling even a short distance a lesson in logistics. One of the most difficult places in which to provide communications, it is also the area most in need of them.

In 2002 and beyond, Alaskans will see a lot of improvements in voice and data technology, as well as more availability of these services. Telecommunication carriers are expanding their networks into outlying areas; in more developed communities, they are working to increase the speed with which people communicate.

"The telecommunications sector is rapidly evolving," explained Sally Suddock, executive director, Alaska High-Tech Business Council. "While Alaska has virtually every kind of communication imaginable, there are some things, like wireless technology, that are not yet fully deployed.

"Right now, we're seeing a lot more deployment into cable modems and broadband services, especially in the Bush," she continued. "Health clinics and the University (of Alaska) are taking advantage of the bandwidth that's there, but Bush households have yet to catch up. In 2002, telecommunications companies will be looking at more aggressive ways to distribute that bandwidth."

The Rural Initiative

"Alaska is unique because there's so much rural land, though only 10 percent of the population lives in rural areas," explained Tom Jensen, ACS director of public affairs. "Rural areas are the highest cost to serve--but they're also the ones who need the services the most."

Both the state of Alaska and the telecommunications industry are currently developing plans on how to get high-speed broadband services out to the Bush communities. In the more remote areas of Alaska, people are dialing up the Internet through a satellite, which requires them to pay a long-distance fee as well as to wait a very long time to get information.

"It's very expensive and very slow because satellites are not designed for high-speed data," said Jensen. "With high-speed broadband, you get information within five or 10 seconds; with dial-up, you can tell it to print, and in an hour, you have half a page printed, at 30 cents a minute."

According to the Denali Commission's Telecommunications Inventory Survey, 164 Alaska communities, or 61 percent, still cannot reach the Internet through an affordable local dial-up connection. Some companies, like ACS, GCI, Matanuska Telephone Association and TelAlaska, are working to remedy this problem.

"We are continuing to expand DSL (digital subscriber lines) services throughout our coverage area," explained MTA Director of Marketing Sandra Crawford. MTA is a member-owned cooperative whose territory covers more than 10,000 square miles of Alaska. "Already, we've built out our DSL network to allow 90 percent of our members access, which, according to the latest NECA report, makes us unique over other DSL providers in the nation. In...