Residential homes in St. Paul Island in Alaska. Photo: Wikimedia.

Alaska Communications announced it recently became a satellite network provider. The company entered an agreement with Eutelsat Americas, leasing transponder space in the C-band. This now allows favorable economics and significant savings in offering services for businesses, schools, health care providers, and government applications in remote communities across Alaska, the company stated.

One of the remote areas Alaska Communications will serve with its new satellite capabilities is St. Paul Island, a community north of the Aleutian Island chain almost 300 miles out in the Bering Sea, through TDX, the Alaska Native corporation for the island. TDX, as the primary internet service provider, will provide last-mile broadband internet service to its customers through its newly laid fiber optic cable, and will be using Alaska Communications’ new satellite offering to provide the middle mile broadband capacity to the island. Alaska Communications will help TDX with its main focus: using broadband to improve the quality of life in St. Paul’s remote and harsh environment.

“Entering the market as a satellite provider instead of a reseller gives us more flexibility and control over our product, which we will use to provide more value for customers,” Alaska Communications Senior Vice President for the Business Market Bill Bishop said. “We can offer our customers competitive pricing and value-added services we’ll manage end to end. As a statewide provider, it’s important to us to serve customers in remote areas, including the North Slope and Arctic regions.”

“Like in much of rural Alaska, when faster broadband speeds are available, the possibilities can be life changing. St. Paul residents can now explore online job training, e-commerce for locally produced arts and crafts, better access to state government services, tourism promotion, and better videoconferencing with friends and family off the island,” said TDX Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ron Philemonoff.