Akiachak is in line for fiber broadband, one of seven roadless villages getting wired

Akiachak could gain hardwired broadband service under a state proposal to permit a small piece of airport land to Calista Corporation for a communications shelter, part of a project bringing fiber internet to roadless Y-K Delta villages that have long gone without.

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities proposes letting Calista install a shelter at Akiachak Airport to provide hardwired broadband to the community. The corporation has filed similar airport-land permits at Kwethluk and Napakiak, two other roadless Y-K Delta villages, for comparable shelters.

The Akiachak shelter is part of Calista's Alaska FiberOptic Project, which the corporation says will reach communities including Akiachak by the end of 2026. "This project will bring affordable, reliable high-speed fiber internet to residents and businesses in the seven communities, thanks to a resolution of support from each Tribe and funding provided by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration," Calista said. President and CEO Andrew Guy called high-speed internet "a key to connecting our people to the world" when the grant was announced. The federal agency describes the award as fiber service to 2,967 unserved households across 10 Alaska Native villages.