Alaska Receives $7.5 Million For Rural Internet Access

JUNEAU, Alaska -- In an effort to extend Internet service to areas of high unemployment in the state, state officials said $7.5 million in grants will be distributed to rural communities not currently online.

According to Gov. Tony Knowles, the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) designed and will administer the program -- funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Community Facilities Grant program.

"This program, administered by the state and funded by the federal government, is targeted at bringing basic online services to even the remotest communities in Alaska," Knowles said.

According to the Alaska Department of Labor and the Denali Commission, 68 communities in Alaska lack local Internet service. Most of these communities are not accessible by road, have fewer than 250 residents and have unemployment rates of 20 percent or more.

"There's a huge digital divide in rural Alaska that can only be addressed if state, federal, and local governments, as well as the private sector and the telecommunications industry work together," said Lt. Governor Fran Ulmer, chair of the state's Telecommunications Information Council.