WASHINGTON, D.C. — Republican FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty has returned from a week-long visit to Alaska, where she met with industry leaders, as well as federal, state, local, and Tribal stakeholders to see firsthand the investments, policies, and hard work driving broadband expansion to some of the nation’s most remote and difficult-to-serve areas.
“Broadband connectivity is a game-changer in rural America,” Trusty said. “Nowhere is the challenge of expanding broadband access more acute than in Alaska, where rugged terrain and vast distances make it both difficult and expensive to connect remote villages. Yet, notwithstanding these challenges, Alaska’s providers are leveraging FCC programs to deliver high-speed broadband services to communities across the state, opening access to education, healthcare, commerce, and economic opportunity for thousands of Alaskans.”
The FCC’s recent efforts to accelerate broadband deployment under the Build America Agenda – including, streamlining Commission rules to speed high-speed infrastructure builds, removing outdated regulatory barriers, and promoting U.S. leadership in wireless services – are already making a tangible difference, Trusty added. “I am grateful for the hospitality of the Alaska Congressional Delegation as well as state, local, and Tribal leaders, who are fierce advocates for expanding opportunity across Alaska, and for the warm welcome I received from every Alaskan I met,” she said. “While Alaska remains one of the most challenging places in the country to close the digital divide, I look forward to working with my colleagues at the FCC to ensure that Alaskans have the same opportunity as all Americans to participate in the 21st century digital economy.”
Commissioner Trusty began her trip in Bethel and Eek, where she toured wireless infrastructure sites and visited the Ayaprun Elitnaurvik Cultural School and Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation.
She then traveled to the Kenai Peninsula with Sen. Lisa Murkowski and staff from the office of Sen. Dan Sullivan. There, she toured the Central Peninsula Hospital to see how Rural Health Care funding supports local services, visited the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, and viewed nearby fixed wireless infrastructure.
In Wasilla, Commissioner Trusty met with voice and internet service providers from across Alaska and observed fiber deployment projects in the area. The trip concluded in Juneau, where she met with state and local officials, including staff from Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the Alaska Municipal League, and toured a subsea cable landing station.
Throughout the visit, Commissioner Trusty engaged with government officials and broadband providers participating in the Alaska Connect Fund and Connect America Fund Phase II. Discussions also focused on the FCC’s broader work to close the digital divide nationwide by modernizing regulations, freeing spectrum for innovative use, and protecting consumers.
