Alaska's mobile service through 2034 gets locked in next week

Alaska's mobile carriers have until Sept. 1 to file binding plans locking in what speeds they will deliver, and where, through 2034.

The plans are built on coverage data frozen at the end of 2024, roughly 20 months old at filing and a decade old when the 2034 targets come due.

A performance plan sets out, area by area, the technology and speed a carrier commits to. The Federal Communications Commission measures against it later when deciding whether the carrier earned its federal support.

In areas served by a single subsidized provider, the goal is 5G at 35 megabits per second down and 3 up by December 2034. Where subsidized providers overlap, they must extend 4G LTE at 5 down and 1 up by December 2029 "where technically and financially feasible," after which the commission intends to pick one provider to carry support through 2034.

The program is the Alaska Connect Fund, which replaces the Alaska Plan. Alaska Plan mobile support runs through the end of 2026.

The rules came out of a petition from GCI Communications Corp. that the commission granted in part. It rejected GCI's request to tie deployment goals only to areas with identified serviceable locations, keeping them framed around people living, working and traveling in Alaska.