Grant funds rural broadband project.

• Author: Pounds, Nancy
• Position: Inside Alaska Business

United Utilities Inc. was awarded $88 million in a loan/grant combination funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service to build infrastructure supporting Internet service in rural Alaska. The funds would extend terrestrial broadband service for the first time to Bristol Bay and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. UUI is a subsidiary of General Communication Inc. The completed project will be able to serve 9,089 households and 748 businesses in the 65 covered communities, company officials said. The project will also be able to serve public/nonprofit/private community institutions, including regional health care providers, school districts, and other regional and Alaska Native organizations.

The funds consist of a $44...