With repair of the damaged GCI fiber optic cable expected sometime in the next week, a lot of Sitkans are relying on Starlink thanks to help from the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.
Sitka lost internet service Aug. 29 when an undersea cable broke.
“Our teams have successfully restored basic mobile voice and text services using alternative technology,” GCI reported Sept. 3. “However, customers are unable to use mobile data, internet and UConn TV services.”
The telecommunications provider said a fiber repair ship that arrived at the site of the cable break last week would take until sometime this week to make repairs, “depending on the complexity of the situation and other challenges that may arise.”
Jenifer Nelson, GCI director of rural affairs, said she could only say that the break occurred between Sitka and Angoon. “There’s a lot that is unknown to us until we can get to the cable and get the cable up out of the water.”
GCI is using a series of satellite and microwave technologies to restore some basic services.
Tlingit & Haida had a handful of Starlink systems in Sitka, which it distributed to places like the Sitka Public Library, SEARHC Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital, Sitka Tribe of Alaska, public radio station KCAW and the Tlingit & Haida offices.
Richard Peterson, president of the Central Council of Tlingit & Haida, also authorized the distribution of Starlink systems for temporary use at various essential businesses in Sitka. Some 15 were shipped from Juneau, and a Tlingit & Haida employee helped explain and troubleshoot around town.
More were shipped to cover day care centers, the Coast Guard, Mt. Edgecumbe High School and Sitka school district buildings to give teachers, staff and students internet access once the buildings reopened after the Labor Day holiday.
Tlingit & Haida is not charging for the temporary use of the Starlink systems.
Meanwhile, residents asked traveling friends and family members to bring back Starlink systems from their travels out of town, and many ordered systems online. Businesses in town sold what they had in their inventory and airline employees noted a number of Starlink setups coming into town through their freight services.
City officials said the use of the library’s Wi-Fi is for essential use only and not designed to support high bandwidth activities such as gaming or streaming movies and music.
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