Trending broadband: needs of Alaska businesses increasing demand for connectivity.

• Author: Barbour, Tracy
• Position: TELECOM & TECHNOLOGY

Recently, when Akeela was looking for a way to improve access to its behavioral health prevention and clinical services, it decided to leverage broadband Internet connectivity from Alaska Communications, a leading provider of broadband and IT solutions. Now Akeela--a nonprofit organization based in Anchorage and Ketchikan--has a private, secure, reliable network to connect clinicians with patients thousands of miles away through video conferencing and other telehealth tools.

"We needed a network provider that would allow us to grow and continue to facilitate wellness throughout the life spans of all Alaskans," says Akeela's Chief Operations Officer Mark Marlow. "Alaska Communications took the time to listen and understand what we needed and provided a top-tier solution. As a result of our new relationship, we can provide greater access to our behavioral health programs without travel, which lowers costs and makes us more efficient." Alaska Communications is pleased to meet Akeela's broadband needs. "Were eager to reward Akeela's confidence in us by delivering a fast, reliable network and consistent customer service," says President and CEO Anand Vadapalli.

Alaska's nonprofit organizations and businesses have a voracious appetite for data, voice, and video applications that are enabled by broadband connections. And the demand is escalating every year, according to Vadapalli. "On average, we see consumption growing 20 to 30 percent, which is similar to the national trends," he says. "Increasingly, the world is a smaller place, and broadband is what makes that happen."

Broadband is often thought of as simply high-speed Internet access. But, increasingly, businesses are relying on virtual private networks to create a secure pathway for channeling information within the public Internet. And while ultra-fast broadband provides a viable solution for all sorts of applications, swiftness isn't the primary factor. "Broadband is certainly about speed, but it is equally--if not more--about reliability and security," Vadapalli says. "In some cases, it is about meeting exacting technical specifications."

Shift Continues toward Mobile and Cloud Applications

Much of the insatiable demand for broadband among Alaska businesses is being driven by the growing use of mobile and cloud applications. Many small businesses are going with a mobile-first or mobile-only approach, according to Greg Schlabaugh, senior manager of commercial product marketing for GCI, the largest Alaska-based and -operated integrated communications provider. This is evident by the number of small shops and retailers taking customer orders with iPads. Even larger companies are reaching for mobile devices first during the course of conducting business. In addition, more business are using Wi-Fi to connect multiple devices. "Now it's more critical to have a quality Wi-Fi connection," Schlabaugh says.

Schlabaugh equates "quality" to having ample bandwidth, a secure connection, and the ability to manage how devices interact on the network. Ideally, he says, a company's broadband network should be "optimized" so that mission-critical applications are prioritized over more nonessential functions like streaming YouTube videos.

Businesses that prefer not to proactively monitor their broadband connection can choose GCI's managed service. With this solution, GCI not only monitors the network, but also configures it to run key applications first--leaving customers to focus on operating their business. "Company owners don't want to think about how they...