More Alaskans Get High-Speed Internet With Alaska Communications Network Expansion

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More Alaskans Get High-Speed Internet With Alaska Communications Network Expansion

2024-11-08 23:59 Last Updated At：11-09 00:11

ANCHORAGE, Alaska--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 8, 2024--

More Alaskans will get high-speed, reliable, affordable internet thanks to Alaska Communications’ network expansion.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241108971634/en/

Fast local service, delivered by locals

“We hear from customers across the state that they want reliable, unlimited internet from Alaska Communications. We’re taking steps to bring that service to more places,” said Drew Stevenson, senior management consultant at Alaska Communications. “This month, we’re enhancing service in Juneau and Soldotna with speeds up to 300Mbps, on average, twice the download speeds of direct-to-consumer satellite services while also being more reliable.”

“By partnering with a next-generation fixed wireless provider, we’re able to deliver fiber grade, low latency speeds up to 300Mbps, perfect for families with multiple users and for today’s essential tasks like video calls and online learning,” said Stevenson.

Starting at just $84.99/month, our service comes with professional installation by IBEW Local 1537 technicians and backed by our in-state technical support and customer service resources.

“Fiber is the gold standard, but we’re always focused on using the right technologies, like fiber fed fixed wireless, which can be better for certain areas,” said Stevenson. “We’re excited to give Alaskans more options for connecting their homes and businesses.”

Building the network of the future

With the future in mind, we’re focusing on building a fiber network that will withstand the test of time and serve Alaskans for decades to come.

“Fiber is often referred to as future proof because it has the capacity to handle speeds in the 100s of Gigabits,” said Stevenson. “Of course, residents don’t need those speeds today, but our fiber network is able to grow with Alaskans’ needs.”

Utilizing high-cost support to strengthen communities

Since 2017, we’ve deployed high-speed internet to close to 30,000 unserved or underserved locations through the CAF II program. These communities include Delta Junction, Fairbanks, Nenana, North Pole, Salcha, Nikiski, Anchor Point, Homer, Soldotna and Ninilchik.

Bridging the digital divide in Tribal communities

We’re a proud partner in the Alaska FiberOptic Project, a collaboration to transform connectivity across rural Alaska, delivering improved education, healthcare, economic opportunities and quality of life.

So far, funding has been secured to connect 15 villages with Gigabit speeds. Terrestrial construction began this summer along the Dalton/Elliot Highway and in the communities of Fort Yukon, Stevens Village and Beaver. Terrestrial construction precedes next summer’s work to lay fiber in the Yukon River.

“Access to affordable, reliable internet is a critical need in our lives today,” said Stevenson. “From accessing cloud-based medical records or visiting a medical specialist via Telehealth from the comfort of your home, to taking online classes or starting your own e-commerce business, connectivity has quickly transformed from a want to need. We’re honored to work with our Tribal partners to enable these opportunities.”

Getting connected

Alaskans can see the options available at their location by visiting order.alaskacommunications.com.

Join the broadband movement

If the projects described here sound exciting, you may be in luck. We’ve teamed up with fellow service provider Matanuska Telecom Association (MTA) to bring awareness to the world-class training programs offered through NECA/IBEW’s Alaska Joint Electrical Apprenticeship and Training Trust.

“We aim to boost interest in the training program to grow the number of highly skilled professionals in the trade, which will directly improve lives in our communities through both high-paying jobs for Alaskans and the skilled workforce needed to connect our communities now and into the future,” said Stevenson.

About Alaska Communications

Alaska Communications, an affiliate of ATN International, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATNI), is the leading provider of mission and life-critical communications infrastructure in Alaska. The company operates a robust and advanced statewide fiber network and a highly diverse undersea fiber optic system that connects Alaska to the contiguous U.S. For additional information, visit www.AlaskaCommunications.com.

Soldier shot self in head before Cybertruck exploded outside Trump's Las Vegas hotel, officials say

2025-01-03 08:57 Last Updated At：09:01

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The highly decorated Army soldier inside a Tesla Cybertruck packed with fireworks that exploded outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas shot himself in the head just before detonation, authorities said Thursday.

The explosion caused minor injuries to seven people but virtually no damage to the hotel. Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said Matthew Livelsberger, a 37-year-old Green Beret, likely planned a more damaging attack but the steel-sided vehicle absorbed much of the force from the crudely built explosive.

Damage from the blast was mostly limited to the interior of the truck because the explosion “vented out and up” and didn’t hit the Trump hotel doors just a few feet away, the sheriff said.

“The level of sophistication is not what we would expect from an individual with this type of military experience,” said Kenny Cooper, a special agent in charge for the the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Authorities are still working to determine a motive.

“It’s not lost on us that it’s in front of the Trump building, that it’s a Tesla vehicle, but we don’t have information at this point that definitively tells us or suggests it was because of this particular ideology,” said Spencer Evans, the Las Vegas FBI’s special agent in charge.

Livelsberger had recently returned from an overseas assignment in Germany and was on approved leave when he died, according to a U.S. official.

A law enforcement official said investigators learned through interviews that he may have gotten into a fight with his wife about relationship issues shortly before he rented the Tesla and bought the guns. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Among the charred items found inside the truck were a handgun at Livelsberger's feet, another firearm, a number of fireworks, a passport, a military ID, credit cards, an iPhone and a smartwatch, McMahill said. Authorities said both guns were purchased legally.

Investigators identified the vehicle's driver — who was burned beyond recognition — as Livelsberger, of Colorado Springs, on Thursday. The cause of death was suicide by gunshot, according to the Clark County coroner.

Livelsberger served in the Green Berets, highly trained special forces who work to counter terrorism abroad and train partners. He had served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks with a long career of overseas assignments, deploying twice to Afghanistan and serving in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and Congo, the Army said.

He was awarded a total of five Bronze Stars, including one with a valor device for courage under fire, a combat infantry badge and an Army Commendation Medal with valor.

McMahill said Livelsberger rented the Tesla electric vehicle in Denver on Saturday and the sheriff displayed a map showing that it was charged in the Colorado town of Monument near Colorado Springs on Monday. On New Year’s Eve, it was charged in Trinidad, Colorado, and three towns in New Mexico along the Interstate 40 corridor.

Then on Wednesday, the day of the explosion, it was charged in three Arizona towns before video showed it on the Las Vegas Strip about 7:30 a.m.

McMahill said investigators obtained charging station photos showing Livelsberger “was the individual that was driving this vehicle” and was alone.

“We’re not aware of any other subjects involved in this particular case,” the sheriff said.

Authorities searched a townhouse in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Thursday as part of the investigation. Neighbors said the man who lived there had a wife and a baby and did not give any sign of posing a danger to anyone.

Cindy Helwig, who lives diagonally across a narrow street separating the homes, said she last saw the man she knew as Matthew about two weeks ago when he asked her if she had a tool he needed to fix the SUV he was working on.

“He was a normal guy,” said Helwig, who said she last saw his wife and baby earlier this week. Helwig noted that people in the townhome on a hill with views of the mountains don’t interact much except for when they’re getting the mail or walking their dogs.

The explosion of the truck, packed with firework mortars and camp fuel canisters, came hours after 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar rammed a truck into a crowd in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day, killing at least 14 people before being shot to death by police. That crash was being investigated as a terrorist attack. The FBI said Thursday that they believe Jabbar acted alone, reversing its position from a day earlier that he likely worked with others.

Both Livelsberger and Jabbar spent time at the base formerly known as Fort Bragg, a massive Army base in North Carolina that is home to multiple Army special operations units. However, one of the officials who spoke to the AP said there is no overlap in their assignments at the base, now called Fort Liberty.

Chris Raia, FBI deputy assistant director, said Thursday that officials have found “no definitive link” between the New Orleans attack and the truck explosion in Las Vegas.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday afternoon on X that “we have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself."

Musk has recently become a member of President-elect Donald Trump’s inner circle. Neither Trump nor Musk was in Las Vegas early Wednesday. Both had attended Trump’s New Year’s Eve party at his South Florida estate.

Musk spent an estimated $250 million during the presidential campaign to support the former president. He was at Trump’s resort on election night and has been a frequent guest there. Trump has named Musk, the world’s richest man, to co-lead a new effort to find ways to cut the government’s size and spending.

Copp, Richer and Long contributed from Washington. Contributing were Associated Press writers Rio Yamat and Ken Ritter in Las Vegas; Colleen Slevin in Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles.

More Alaskans Get High-Speed Internet With Alaska Communications Network Expansion

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More Alaskans Get High-Speed Internet With Alaska Communications Network Expansion

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