The Northwest Arctic Borough School District has entered into a five-year, $64.5 million broadband contract with telecom provider GCI, costing approximately $12.9 million annually.
The district serves 1,928 students in 13 schools plus two sites, which works out to about $6,690 per student per year. The contract holds an additional $10.1 million for non-connectivity services.
The deal, primarily funded through federal (90%) and state school broadband assistance (10%) programs raises concerns about the inflated costs and outdated technology.
Breakdown of the costs under the GCI agreement:
- Five-year total: $64,497,000
- Annual cost: $12,899,400
- Funding:
- 90% from the Federal E-Rate Program ($11,609,460/year)
- 10% from Alaska’s BAG 100 Program ($1,289,940/year)
Competing bids of the district using satellite services would run about $4,000 per month per site, totaling approximately $720,000 per year across all Northwest Arctic Borough School District’s 15 sites, which pencils out to $373 per student per year.
Many school districts have already made the switch to satellite broadband. Considering the school district chose microwave technology for all but three locations, Kotzebue-area students could be using faster, more affordable satellite broadband, and the school district’s 10% share for connectivity would have been $72,000 annually.
The GCI contract charges much higher rates for specific sites, such as:
- Satellite/Starlink-served schools (e.g., Ambler, Kobuk, Shungnak): $54,150/month per site, which is nearly 13 times more expensive.
- Microwave-served schools #1: (e.g., Buckland, Kiana, Kivalina, Noatak, Noorvik, Selawik, Deering): $92,500/month per site via GCI’s proprietary TERRA network, which is 23 times more expensive.
- Microwave-served schools #2: (Kotzebue Area): $65,000/month per site, also using the TERRA Network, which is 16 times more expensive.
The TERRA microwave network is not built for today’s Internet consumption and is being outpaced by low-earth orbit satellites such as Starlink, which offers greater scalability and lower costs. The five-year lock-in of the contract ties the Northwest Arctic School District to technology that is being replaced in a fast-evolving field.
Northwest Arctic Borough residents pay no local taxes, so this expensive program is coming from federal taxpayers and the State of Alaska, which will chip in 10%.
The decision to overlook a dramatically cheaper, modern alternative for the more expensive and nearly outdated technology raises questions about why the district is not adopting Starlink or other satellite solutions, which are already available and being used in Kotzebue and other remote sites.
GCI’s E-Rate filing can be found here and the State of Alaska BAG 100 grant awards can be found here.
This is a surprise to who? How many of these communities in rural Alaska would be around if not for the largesse of the federal and state governments? Will Governor Dunleavy exercise executive authority to reign in these wastes or he too is beholden to those that butter his bread?
Corruption.
Criminal.
Outrageous.
The level of corruption and criminality, by the entities in the Bush and their willing cohorts, may be some of the most corrupt state governmental criminality in the USA.
Please keep digging – there sooo much there.
But they need high speed Internet to bring them all the latest episodes of porn. Porn is what makes the villages go round.
That sounds like a bargain, at half the price.
The NSB doesn’t care how much it costs. Same as their executive jet fixed wing and helicopter fleet. They get an appropriation each year of the state oil and gas property tax – hundreds of millions of dollars of state money.
Honesty and common sense have no lobbyists in Juneau. One could hope that conservatives and liberals, such as the education lobby, could agree to fix a problem like this, but there is no chance. You will find highly paid lobbyists from both ends of the political spectrum work to protect misspending of this sort, and worse.
A material and measurable part of the PERS and TRS defined benefit unfunded liability (very likely $10 billion today because of recent investment results but it would be disguised by the 5-year smoothing used by the state) for the Tier 1 retirees is the boost so many of those retirees obtained by working their “high 3”
years for the NSB. Even though those DB tiers closed to new employees on 6/30/06, those employees, now mostly retired, and their named beneficiaries will be collecting that “high 3” boost for the longest living of the employee or his/her beneficiary. And – get this – those very high salaries were paid by the state granting the oil and gas property tax to the NSB. So the state misspends the money by granting it to the NSB, which then turns around and uses part of that money to increase the public employee retirement liability.
It’s boondoggles like this – spread throughout the state government – that demand that huge budget cuts precede any discussion of new taxes. My guess would be that oversights, screw-ups, and worse amounting to $3 billion can be found in the $14 billion annual state spend.
And finally, by the way, it’s boondoggles like this that for all honest, thinking Alaskans should eliminate any discussion of reverting back to DB for PERS and TRS.
Kotz is NOT in the NSB. This amount of money is NUTS.
I cannot see where this Kayak person said that Kotz is part of the NSB. It’s not of course. Kotz is of course the center of the Northwest Arctic Borough that was formed by, or if you like, enabled by the Red Dog Mine.
Wow.
Please tell us more.
Get with Susan and expose this criminality to the light of day.
We are being fleeced by organized crime in this state.
Corruption abound: follow the money…
Wow this is roughly $1 million per school per year. Starlink has business plans for about $600/month, plus the high performance dish one time purchase of $1500. Even if you had to get a few of these systems to serve a school, or pay for extra data (standard business plan is 2TB a month included data, probably not enough on its own for a whole school) it would be hard to come with costs of more than say $5000 a month in the extreme for serving a school with Starlink. That’s a huge differential.
You would also have to figure in the cost of repairs after the Anchorage/Portland Social Democrats travelled all the way up there and trashed those systems, because they came from “Elon the Fascist”.
Elon is an African American.
Why no context? XX times compared to what?
Why no analysis of the cost of providing service? Did you even investigate that?
Perhaps most importantly, why no comment from GCI? Did you try to contact them?
Covid booster shot much?
You really think this is acceptable?
Wow…
Did you?
I believe it, that’s one reason why the PFD is getting attacked so hard…to pay for others freebies
You know it and if you dig deep into this BS, somebody is getting PAID to do this kind of graft and payola.
When Democrats insist time after time, on spending 10-20 times what Starlink would cost, it seems incredibly obvious that an investigation into who is receiving under-the-table payoffs should be mandatory.
.
Nobody spends 10-20 times what a competitor would charge without some personal gain involved. Nobody…
Bingo. These e-rate contracts are typically 3 years with an option to renew for and additional 2 years, so why is this one 5 years? Dig in and look at the rfp that was put out by the school- it’s written for GCI and only gci to win it. Has been that way for years. Fascinating that every time this school district or the hospital puts out an rfp, gci expands and puts a new microwave tower up in a village. no other isp has ever been given a fair chance in this area, it’s well known about in the industry
Agree
This movement in Alaska is not us~either let it ravage in a puke bowl or wake up ~ tired of being face to face with porcelain ~ good day to all!
When one spends his own money on something for one’s self you generally get a good decision. Spend someone else’s money on yourself, you’ll get a weaker but OK decision. Spend your own money for someone else and you get a pretty good decision too. But spend someone else’s money on somebody else, and you’ll get a poor decision.
now do lksd and liemans kick back of 125 mil.
yea know all about it. Suzanne this is just 1 example of 20 more like this of blatant fraud. look at rural health care in these same villages- same funding vehicle. millions and millions in fraud- its public information. because this is government funding – there are strict rules in place to prevent unfair awards- cost is always highest valued part of the decision – it’s ignored over and over or justified with bd. it is very uncommon for any of these contracts to be 5 years long, everywhere else is 3 years. that blatantly locks out other isp and new delevopment telecommunications for five years!- everyone on the school board and tech committee should be held accountable and ashamed and reported and investigated.
if there was more than just gci bidding on it then their funding request paperwork they submitted is wrong because it says only one bid was received- red flag
all of them are crooked the information to support that is easy to find if you look
im begging you to keep digging on this and look at other schools districts and rural health care using this funding. it’s one hellova racket
That last mile is a long one.
GCI make campaign donations to whom? Follow the money.
Remember, it’s for the children! But, don’t forget [no-longer locally owned GCI and local cronies/partners getting their cut of the five-year, $64.5 million federal bonanza. Where is DOGE when you need them? Oh well, that’s the Northwest Arctic Borough, what are you going to do about it?
What is the Anchorage School District doing about internet access for all of their schools and who is providing it at what cost and for how long of a contract? Are Anchorage taxpayers getting the best bang for their buck for their children or is it another GCI funded ISP?
Follow the money? See where/ / see who political contribution fee’s were paid.
This begs the question, how did anyone ever learn anything before the interwebs?
This right here.
It’s called lazy parenting married to lazy educating.
Now I’m starting to understand how Alaska could spend so much money on education, and get so little in return.
Yup our government is stupid with our money
Your analysis is accurate, but misses an important piece of context – GCI threw in cell phone service with their Terra internet, sweetening the “deal”. I suggest comparing cell service alternatives in addition to this article to get a more accurate picture. Serious bookend for this comment: GCI is ripping them off.
Hi Rich,
I agree with you! I am sure that if they went locally OTZ Telephone Co-Op would have been much cheaper! I am almost certain that GCI wrote the grant to make it look like they are doing the SD a favor. Take care
Seriously, these pricing levels are astronomical—especially when compared to low Earth orbit satellite Internet access. But what’s even more troubling is that anyone would approve such a contract in the first place. The individuals who signed off on a $60+ million annual agreement for these commodity services should be removed from office and barred from holding any public leadership role until they’ve completed at least 100 hours of training in fiscal management and fiduciary responsibility.
and locked it in for FIVE years – which is uncustomary. Standard is 3 yrs
Now you know why the CEO has 2 fishing lodges in Bristol Bay, a helicopter, and a lear jet. Along with the million dollar salary the other executives get.
John Malone and Greg Maffey and their lawyers helped keep Ron out of jail to pay back millions to the government for overcharging villagers on cellular plans. Got busted for stock violations also, 20 million plus attorney fees. Harvard sleeze balls.
Ronnies nickname is “speed dial” after he was caught with amber batts phone number in his “speed dial”… after sophie what’s her face. One day people will apply the law to this othwise illegal interlocking directorate of thieves aka the smith-duncan-behm,schutt harlotte of bouncing beam knuckleheads… May God Bless them with everything they did to defraud me personally. In Jesus Chris name Amen… a better life is the best revenge… in this case its better healthcare providers… such “straight” arrows! Not!
Suzanne, over the past couple of years or so, there has been several undersea cable breaks in the Arctic Ocean which greatly hampered Northwest Arctic internet service. GCI was adversely affected by these events.
Not surprisingly after the first cable break one quickly begin to notice StarLink modules popping up on top of homes all around Kotzebue. The local folks are very
self- sufficient, something that comes naturally to a people who have survived for thousands of years in that harsh environment.
Perhaps this is why every student in the district is given a MacBook instead of a cheaper Dell. Are all students are given coats and snow pants? perhaps gci can explain why it exercises monopolistic powers and does not turn on roaming services to other providers isolated villagers can use non gci phones?
I can guess what GCI’s answer would be to your last question.
Because those ‘other providers’ don’t give a sh!t about villagers and their cell connectivity, and thus won’t even consider paying GCI for ‘isolated’ roaming. For those other providers, who have not invested in their own Alaska networks outside of Southcentral and Fairbanks/Juneau, villagers just don’t matter.
This is true. GCIs faults aside, they are the only company that has shown serious interest in investing in rural Alaska. Subsidies or not, no GCI no cell service for most of rural Alaska.
And they still can’t read, write, or do arithmetic!
Living in Arctic villages is expensive. This is a surprise to how many people?
Starlink would absolutely be a cheaper option, and I’m sure it’s something they’re looking into. I imagine for school districts, you can’t implement a change overnight
You really have too much faith in “someone” doing something. I live in one of these remote areas and there is literally no appetite to look for cheaper alternatives when they know they have big government paying the way.
Why does anyone trust the government??
Bring this to light is exactly why princess is afraid
It’s GCI Of course it’s over priced
While the cost of GCI school internet is staggering, just consider the cost of doing business in remote Alaska. Sure, compared to the average starlink monthly bill here in town it looks like a total ripoff but you need to consider the cost if having a huge “nerd team” on location 24/7.
I have 25years on the slope and there are huge problems with internet services even there with 2 fibre optic plus microwave and satellite options.
Our modern day society puts an unbelievable demand on connectivity all the way from preschool gaming to all levels of education, entertainment, business and government.
It’s 90% federal dollars and Juneau has a responsibility to spend it ALL, right?
The last time GCI broke the law in 2023:
‘https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/gci-communications-corp-pay-more-40-million-resolve-false-claims-act-allegations-related-fcc
‘https://www.justice.gov/d9/2023-05/gci_settlement_agreement_-_fully_executed_0.pdf
I replaced GCI with Starlink two years ago. No comparison. Starlink’s performance blows it away at less than half the price.
Just another reason why the State Capitol should be moved to Wasilla, more accessible to constituents statewide and with more oversight of lobbyist interaction with state and federal officials.
Really depends on where. I am a huge Starlink fan and have it at my cabin, and also a mini for roaming, and subscribe to its marine plan in the summer for offshore work.
I still use GCI at my home outside Wasilla. I get 1000 Mbps service with GCI that is steady and reliable. Their bundling with cell phones for the family really makes their cell service a great deal if your getting Internet from them anyway.
Starlink tops on a good day at about 200 Mbps. Usually 100-150. It’s still amazing service but it doesn’t compare to GCI where you can get GCIs better plans.
Even Musk has said Starlink was never meant to compete directly with ISPs that can offer high speeds; it’s for everyone else — ideal for rural Alaska.
And why are people not going to jail?
To estimate potential savings by using Starlink instead of GCI’s $66 million, 5-year contract for the Northwest Arctic Borough School District (serving 15 sites), let’s break it down based on available data.
GCI Contract Costs
Total: $66 million over 5 years.
Annual: ~$12.9 million (as reported for 1,928 students across 13 schools and 2 additional sites).
Per site annually: $12.9 million ÷ 15 sites = ~$860,000.
Per student annually: $12.9 million ÷ 1,928 students = ~$6,690.
Starlink Cost Estimates
Starlink’s pricing for rural Alaska varies by plan. We’ll use conservative figures to account for business-grade needs and potential add-ons, focusing on the Priority plan (suitable for schools) and including equipment costs.
Monthly Cost per Site:
Priority 50GB plan: $65/month (minimum for businesses).
Priority 1TB plan: $250/month (more realistic for school usage, assuming high data needs for streaming and classes).
Let’s assume the 1TB plan for reliability: $250/month × 15 sites = $3,750/month.
Annual cost: $3,750 × 12 = $45,000.
Equipment Cost:
High-performance dish: $499 one-time per site (standard for Priority plans).
15 sites × $499 = $7,485 (one-time).
Additional Costs:
Congestion fee (if applicable, e.g., high-density area): $100 one-time per site = $1,500.
Installation/support (estimated): $500/site one-time = $7,500.
Total one-time costs: $7,485 + $1,500 + $7,500 = $16,485.
Total Starlink Cost Over 5 Years:
Annual connectivity: $45,000 × 5 = $225,000.
One-time costs: $16,485.
Total: $225,000 + $16,485 = $241,485.
For conservatism, assume a 20% buffer for maintenance or upgrades: $241,485 × 1.2 = ~$290,000.
Savings Calculation
GCI cost: $66,000,000.
Starlink cost (high estimate): $290,000.
Savings: $66,000,000 – $290,000 = $65,710,000 over 5 years.
Annual savings: $65,710,000 ÷ 5 = ~$13,142,000.
Geeeee cheap internet ah bud?
Crisis, GCI… Reaction, Starlink… Solution, Neurolink… Have fun with that… ^^^
The graft only gets worse. Look at the broadband bill that was signed a year or so back What two Alaska Senators voted for that boondoggle. Lay fiber to a few select villages. The cost! Starlink was not the popular choice in congress. Not enough political contributions! I emailed both senators pointing out the cost and that Starlink was available then.
Not to mention after spending all that money, their frequent regional outages from ice scouring submarine fiber optic cables. At least two major multimonth incidents up there in the last three years so far. And then they have to fallback to satellite anyway (including Starlink).
Why wasn’t anyone interviewed for this story? Isn’t that usually done to provide further context and allow those being criticized to share their perspective? Seems like this story was written solely to stir up anger rather than to inform.
Hi Rich,
I agree with you! I am sure that if they went locally OTZ Telephone Co-Op would have been much cheaper! I am almost certain that GCI wrote the grant to make it look like they are doing the SD a favor. Take care
How are their test scores? This a failed system by all accounts!
Leave it to Biden. Elon was not considered. Don’t blame rural communities.
DOn’t forget about GCI’s contract with the Lower Kuskokwim School District (LKSD) awarded in April 2024, over $101 million per year.
“In April, the district’s school board approved a contract with GCI for more than $101 million a year. The price tag for a high-speed connection at the district office in Bethel alone is currently $1.4 million per month. After BAG and E-rate subsidies, the Lower Kuskokwim School District is on the hook for around $3 million of this contract annually, according to a school board memo. For GCI, the 100 megabits per second change to state BAG regulations has resulted in an apparent windfall, far beyond what the next largest Alaska providers have achieved in terms of overall subsidies. With the state support to increase speeds, districts GCI serves have roughly doubled their E-Rate subsidies to more than $200 million since the change, according to federal records.”
‘https://www.kyuk.org/education/2024-09-30/as-satellite-internet-shakes-up-the-rural-school-internet-system-rising-costs-throw-its-future-into-question
All of that money and maybe 10% can read at grade level. Sometimes just giving up is actually is the best solution.
And still that is better than sending BILLIONS to Ukraine or other countries. 101 million is chump change compared to billions and billions and it’s in our country.