Office of Broadband: Taking the lead on expanding Alaska's internet connectivity.

• Date: 01 November 2022
• Author: Orr, Vanessa
• Author: Orr, Vanessa

To take part in the global economy, communication is key. Yet parts of Alaska still lack access to high-speed internet or to any internet at all. To help improve access, the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), provides $42.5 billion to expand high-speed internet access by funding planning, infrastructure deployment, and adoption programs in all fifty states, Puerto Rico, and other US territories. The funds will be administered to each location by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) newly established Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth.

Alaska has an office of its own. In August, Governor Mike Dunleavy formed the Alaska Office of Broadband to bridge the digital divide in rural, suburban, and tribal communities. The state office will distribute federal funds to prioritized communities. Though each state is expected to get $100 million minimum from the IIJA, money isn't the only issue facing Alaska when it comes to increasing connectivity.

"In terms of magnitude, the sheer vast distances that the broadband infrastructure has to span between locations is far greater than anywhere else in the United States," says Lisa Von Bargen, senior project manager at the Office of Broadband in the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development. "Pair that with a lack of population density in many areas of the state, and that makes it even more difficult when you take into consideration not only the capital expenditure but ongoing costs for maintaining networks."

Across the Miles

For Alaskans to take advantage of high-speed internet, an immense amount of middle- and last-mile infrastructure needs to be put into place. After construction is over, funds need to be set aside for operational expenses.

"We face the typical challenges that other states face, only more extreme," says Thomas Lochner, director of the Office of Broadband. "Other than a couple of valleys in Colorado, most places don't experience -50[degrees]F temperatures that freeze the creosote on the poles, which creates hazardous conditions for workers."

Areas that already have internet connections still struggle with quality, so the office has plans to upgrade them.

"While some locations are served by geostationary satellites, the difference between low-earth orbiting satellites [LEOs] and fiber latency is immense," says Lochner. "Depending on distance, fiber takes 20 to 60 milliseconds to send a data packet; geostationary satellites take 600 to 700 milliseconds." A human eyeblink is around 250...