GCI, Alaska’s largest telecommunications company, announced today that it will use Starlink’s dedicated service with bonded gateways to support connectivity for thousands of customers across several community hubs, including Bethel, Sitka, Kotzebue, and Dillingham.
Bonded gateways rely on optical inter-satellite laser links to deliver multi-gigabit connectivity, even in locations far from Starlink ground stations. As a Basenor article explained, the technology combines multiple satellite connections into a single aggregated link — functioning as a middle-mile solution capable of symmetric speeds — which a provider like GCI then delivers to homes, businesses, schools, and healthcare facilities across the Alaska communities it serves.
The deployment builds on an enterprise reseller agreement that GCI and Starlink reached in 2024, allowing GCI to integrate low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite service into its business connectivity offerings. Starlink has already installed similar community gateways in Unalaska and Nome, with the Unalaska site reportedly delivering up to 10 Gbps throughput.
GCI positioned the bonded gateways as a complement to its existing fiber, microwave, and satellite infrastructure rather than a replacement. “We have long said it takes every tool in our toolkit to serve a state like Alaska,” said Billy Wailand, GCI senior vice president of corporate development. He said the LEO-powered gateways add a layer of resiliency that strengthens the company’s ability to keep customers connected.
Network reliability carries added weight in Alaska, where broadband supports healthcare delivery, education, and public safety across remote and often roadless terrain, the company said.
Satellite service has been gaining ground on federal broadband benchmarks, though Alaska remains an outlier. A recent Ookla Speedtest report found that Starlink provided median download speeds of 100 Mbps or higher in every state except Alaska during the second half of 2025, leaving the state short of the Federal Communications Commission’s download minimum.
