Alaska Communications wants to bring higher speed internet to its Soldotna customers. The company detailed in a presentation given to the Soldotna City Council on Wednesday its desire to bring higher-speed internet to multiple high-density areas in Alaska, including the cities of Kenai and Soldotna.

ACS Director of External Affairs and Corporate Communications Heather Cavanaugh told council members Wednesday that what ACS is looking for from the city is an agreement that will allow them to mount their new technology on the city’s existing light posts. The new equipment, roughly the size of a ream of paper, would go on the pole, while separate equipment, roughly the size of an iPhone, would go directly on residents’ houses.

“I think we all know that high-speed internet is critical for supporting business and government with the technology that’s needed to deliver health care, education, support economic development, and really support quality of life and safety as well,” Cavanaugh said.

ACS is proposing to use what’s called mesh network technology to bring faster internet to Soldotna. The network would operate, Cavanaugh said, by running fiber optic to the telephone pole where the equipment is mounted. A signal is then transmitted either to another pole mounted with equipment, or to equipment mounted on a home.

To keep trenching to a minimum, ACS Senior Manager of Engineering Greg Tooke said, the company would start with places where ACS fiber is already laid. The mesh network strategy is uniquely suited for populated areas because of its short range. The erection of communications towers, such as those ACS has elsewhere in the state, have a much larger coverage range, Cavanaugh said.

The company successfully piloted the program in Anchorage in fall 2020 and hopes to expand to other densely populated areas in Alaska, including in Soldotna and Kenai. Ultimately, Cavanaugh said, ACS wants the technology to be beneficial for people in Soldotna as much as to the company.

“We want this to be a win-win for the city and its residents and businesses, and then of course work for Alaska Communications,” Cavanaugh said.

Cavanaugh said Wednesday that the COVID pandemic underscored the need for more access to high-speed internet in Alaska. The real benefit to customers, she said, will be seen in the increased internet speed.

“It’s just reaching out to neighborhoods that may have lower speeds today and getting them to a place where they can do exactly what we’re doing now,” Cavanaugh said. “Or you can do live video conferencing and online school and telemedicine, which is taking off and really transforming communities.”

The expansion of broadband access, long a priority for Alaska, ramped up on the Kenai Peninsula during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly dedicated between $1.2 and $2 million of their federal CARES Act money to expand rural internet access on the peninsula. In all, six towers were built in Nikiski, Tyonek, Bear Creek, Nikolaevsk, Ninilchik and Cohoe. The assembly separately approved a communications tower for Summit Lake.

Wednesday’s meeting of the Soldotna City Council can be streamed on the city’s website at soldotna.org.

Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.