How to get better Internet in Gustavus

[Nathan Borson]

Fellow Gustavians,

The Gustavus City Council followed my recommendation and voted Monday to discontinue the Gustavus Community Network as soon as its subscribers all have an option for equal or better Internet service. They also cleared me to assist GCN customers and other providers to find each other and make the transition away from GCN.

As I wrote earlier, HughesNet satellite service is available wherever there is a view of the Southern sky. I do not consider that to be as good as the existing GCN service, but right now it is the only option for parts of Gustavus. AT&T's 4G mobile broadband service is available wherever there is a good cell phone signal, and it is faster, cheaper, and more reliable than GCN in those locations. Where the cell signal is weaker, it may be possible to get usable service with a cell phone booster but performance and reliability will diminish with signal strength.

This message concerns Internet access from Fibre Alaska. David Kunat is building a network to distribute Internet service in Gustavus, and this will be the fastest, cheapest, and most reliable service for those who can get it. David faces a huge challenge given the flat, forested terrain of Gustavus. While service is available now in some parts of town, it will take significant time and money to get service to others.

To find out whether Fibre Alaska is an option for you now, and to let David know that you want service, even if it is not available in your location yet, go to http://fibrealaska.com/gustavus . Fill in the form with your contact information and click on the map to identify where you want service. David will use this information to plan his network expansion, so neighborhoods that express the most interest in his service will receive service soonest!

I encourage everyone who is genuinely interested in obtaining the best Internet service at their location to express their interest by filling in that form as soon as possible.

Nate

Nathan Borson, Co-Owner

Corvid Computing, System Manager

Gustavus Community Network

(907) 697-2810