Federal regulator of interstate and international communications. Source of ECFS docket filings affecting Alaska broadband and telecom.
45 L St NE, Washington, DC 20554
Alaska House members ask FCC to preserve E-Rate school internet discounts
Twenty-one Alaska State House members asked the FCC to preserve E-Rate, saying the state's school broadband grant requires districts to qualify for it first. Comments close Oct. 13.
by Walter AlaskaNews1d ago2 min read
FCC clears SpaceX to send satellite service straight to phones in Alaska and the rest of the U.S.
The FCC authorized SpaceX to provide satellite service directly to mobile phones across the United States, including Alaska, and waived the requirement that it partner with a wireless carrier, conditioned on meeting satellite 911 rules and completing its EchoStar license purchase.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago2 min read
Alaska Communications presses FCC to block or condition GCI-Quintillion sale
Alaska Communications is asking the FCC to block or condition GCI's $310 million purchase of Quintillion, whose undersea fiber links the North Slope and northwest Alaska. It has offered more than $75 million for 20 years of guaranteed access, which GCI and Quintillion have not publicly answered.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago5 min read
FCC reconsiders how it sets rural clinic telecom subsidies, 97% of which go to Alaska
FCC seeks comment by Sept. 30 on Rural Health Care Telecom Program rate rules; Alaska health care providers got $276 million of $285 million in 2025.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read
FCC weighs new ways to set prices for rural Alaska clinics' internet and phone service
The FCC is taking comments through Sept. 30 on Rural Health Care Program rate rules. Alaska drew about $276 million of the $285 million Telecom Program in 2025.
by Melinda Communities.News2w ago2 min read
Aniak's Bush-Tell has drawn more than $12 million in federal support to serve river villages
Bush-Tell federal subsidies: Aniak carrier's Alaska Plan, CAF ICC and Lifeline support tops $12.2 million; USDA ReConnect fiber grant for Kuskokwim and Yukon villages.
by Melinda Communities.News2w ago2 min read
Homer asks FCC to keep internet discount that covers most of the public library's bill
Homer City Council urges the FCC to keep the E-rate program, which pays 70% of Homer Public Library internet costs; FCC E-rate review comments are due Oct. 13.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
The FCC review that could end E-Rate is filed under children and screens
Alaska schools and libraries have until Oct. 13 to comment on an FCC review that could limit or end the E-Rate internet discount program for schools.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
E-Rate payments send $335,276 to broadband in three Alaska towns
Six federal Schools and Libraries Program payments to SATEO INC of Anchorage, ranging from $1,368 to $302,400 and totaling $335,276, posted Friday on USAspending.gov, showing how E-Rate subsidy money reaches a single Alaska vendor.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read
GCI is buying the only fiber link connecting Alaska's Arctic coast to the state
GCI has agreed to buy Arctic fiber operator Quintillion for $310 million plus up to $50 million in capital reimbursement, has advanced the seller a $160 million term loan, and awaits FCC consent, antitrust clearance and completion of a North Slope-to-Utqiagvik fiber link before closing.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min read
Alaska schools fight FCC proposals that could cut their internet lifeline
Alaska education groups are fighting FCC proposals that could scale back or end E-Rate, which provides over $200 million a year in discounted internet to Alaska schools.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 1mo ago2 min read
Alaska has no marine radio examiner, so UAS is asking to become one
Southeast Alaska deck officer students are taught radio procedure but have no local way to sit for the federal exam. In an Aug. 28 application, the University of Alaska Southeast asked the FCC for authority to administer Marine Radio Operator and GMDSS tests itself.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 1mo ago2 min read
A rural Alaska phone company says a subsidy cut costs $185 per connection
Alaska Power & Telephone told the FCC on Thursday that ending CAF ICC support without a replacement would cut about $1.1 million a year from the company, roughly $185 per connection, across 40 remote communities reachable only by air or water.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read
Alaska superintendents ask FCC not to cut school internet subsidy
The Alaska Superintendents Association asked the FCC not to narrow E-Rate, the program that discounts internet and telecommunications service for schools.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read
Alaska's mobile service through 2034 gets locked in next week
Alaska mobile carriers must file binding performance plans with the FCC by Sept. 1, setting speed and coverage commitments through 2034 under the Alaska Connect Fund.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Alaska schools could face a choice between internet and teachers if a federal subsidy is cut
The FCC is reviewing the E-Rate subsidy that covered more than $200 million in Alaska school and library internet costs in 2025, and Delta Community Library Director Tiki Levinson says a cut would hit rural connectivity hardest.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Cordova carrier tells FCC spectrum hoarding blocks rural broadband
Cordova Wireless Communications told federal regulators Wednesday that large carriers hold unused spectrum in the Cordova region but won't deploy it or lease it to local providers, making it difficult to meet federal broadband speed standards.
by Alaska News4mo ago2 min read
Small Alaska telecom warns FCC 'land rush' favors big carriers
OTZ Telephone Cooperative told federal regulators Tuesday that a first-to-file rule for broadband funding creates an unfair race that larger companies with more staff will win, potentially locking smaller cooperatives out of federal support.
by Alaska Newsadded 4mo ago3 min read
Cordova Wireless challenges FCC broadband maps, says waterways and islands missing
Cordova Wireless Communications filed formal objections with the Federal Communications Commission on May 22, 2026, documenting that federal broadband funding maps exclude coastal waterways and remote islands where Alaskans fish, hunt, and travel.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min readGCI to end landline long-distance service in six Southeast communities
GCI Communication Corp. filed with the Federal Communications Commission to discontinue landline long-distance service in six Southeast Alaska communities—Gustavus, Hoonah, Kake, Klawock, Metlakatla, and Tenakee Springs—on or after August 1, 2026, citing rising costs for underlying facilities.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago1 min read