Alaska Communications Expands Connectivity Offerings With Low Earth Orbit Satellites

June 10, 2021

Alaska Communications has signed a Distribution Partner Agreement with OneWeb, the global communications network powered from space, to expand the company’s connectivity solutions across Alaska.

Through the agreement, Alaska Communications will sell OneWeb’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite service to its customers and use OneWeb’s infrastructure for critical middle mile connections.

“We’re pleased to work with OneWeb to offer LEO services in Alaska,” said Bill Bishop, president and CEO of Alaska Communications. “We see this as a milestone moment in our ability to offer low-latency, high-speed service across Alaska, particularly in rural areas.”

LEO satellites deliver fiber-like connectivity performance to areas that have been inaccessible via terrestrial options. Businesses, local governments, schools, healthcare providers and resource developers need high speed, low latency connections to keep up with growing demands, like video conferencing, telehealth, cloud computing and more.

“We see this solution as an important piece of our toolkit,” said Bishop. “We’re known for creating custom solutions to meet our customer’s needs. Collaborating with OneWeb augments our capabilities in serving our business and government customers.”

“Alaska Communications has unparalleled experience delivering communications to Alaskans for more than 100 years and uniquely understands where the need is across the state,” said Neil Masterson, CEO of OneWeb. “We are thrilled to add our network to their offering and to be working together to see all of Alaska connected.”

LEO services through Alaska Communications and OneWeb will be available for service in the fourth quarter of 2021.