GCI (company)
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GCI Communication Corp (GCI) is a telecommunications corporation operating in Alaska. Through its own facilities and agreements with other providers, GCI provides cable television service, Internet access, wireline (networking), and cellular telephone service. It is a subsidiary of Colorado-based company Liberty Broadband, a company affiliated with Liberty Media that also owns a 26% interest in Charter Communications, having been originally acquired by Liberty in 2015.
History
GCI was founded in 1979 by Ron Duncan and Bob Walp.[1] On November 10, 2005, the company reported third-quarter profits of $2.3 million, down from $9.3 million during the same three months of 2004.[2]
Products
Television
Based in
GCI launched Yukon TV, a OTT streaming service, in November 2020, which requires a customer to subscribe to GCI's internet service.[5] In December 2021, GCI announced that it would discontinue cable TV service in the majority of its markets, including all urban markets, in favor of Yukon TV. It would continue to provide cable service in some rural Alaskan communities, including Bethel and Dillingham, which are not connected to GCI's fiber network.[6]
GCI also provides content to the state-operated Alaska Rural Communications Service satellite system, which in turn provides free over-the-air broadcasts of commercial and public television programs to 235 rural Alaskan communities.[7]
On November 9, 2012, GCI announced plans to purchase KTVA, a CBS-affiliated television station in Anchorage, along with KATH-LD and KSCT-LP, the NBC-affiliated stations in Southeast Alaska.[8] On December 9, 2013, GCI filed to acquire the CBS affiliates in Southeast Alaska—KXLJ-LD in Juneau, KTNL-TV in Sitka, and KUBD in Ketchikan.[9][10] On July 31, 2020, GCI announced its intent to exit the television business and sold the non-license assets of KTVA to Gray Television.[11]
Internet
GCI provides access to the Internet via multiple means. As of January 2015, GCI provides cable modem services in major cities in Alaska with download speeds up to 250 megabits per second or Mbps(re:D Plan). In mid 2015 GCI will be deploying its fiber re:D
Through its own facilities and agreements with other providers, primarily
GCI maintains local access numbers throughout the state for analog dial-up service. GCI however no longer offers dial up service to customer accounts, but will continue to support customers who are grandfathered into the service.
GCI also owns
Wireline telephone
GCI offers local telephone service in many Alaskan markets as well as intrastate and interstate long-distance. As the competitive local exchange carrier, GCI primarily contracts with the incumbent local exchange carrier, Alaska Communications Systems, to provide the local loop from GCI's switches to customers. (This practice is known as UNE-loop.)
GCI is currently deploying
GCI also provides legacy as well as Cisco
Wireless telephone
Through an agreement with
Radio frequency spectrum chart
The following chart describes radio frequency spectrum bands accessible by the company's customers.
Frequency Band | Band number | Protocol | Generation | Status | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1.9 GHz PCS | 2 | GSM/GPRS/EDGE | 2G | Active/Refarming to LTE | [20] |
850 MHz CLR | 5 | ||||
1.9 GHz PCS | 2 | UMTS/HSPA+ | 3G | ||
850 MHz CLR | 5 | ||||
700 MHz Lower SMH A Block | 12 | LTE/LTE-A | 4G | Active | |
850 MHz CLR | 5/26 | ||||
1.9 GHz PCS | 2/25 | ||||
1.7/2.1 GHz AWS | 4/66 | ||||
600 MHz DD | n71 | NR | 5G | ||
24 GHz K-band | n258 | Spectrum acquired | |||
39 GHz Ka-band | n260 | ||||
47 GHz V-band | n262 |
See also
- List of United States telephone companies
- Other cable based services
- 2010 Alaska Turbo Otter crash
References
- ISBN 9780882406527.
- ^ "General Communication Inc. reports $ 2.3 million quarterly profits".[permanent dead link]
- ^ "GCI Company Overview". Archived from the original on May 5, 2010. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
- ^ "HDTV - GCI Cable". Archived from the original on January 27, 2007. Retrieved January 22, 2007.
- ^ Gross, Scott. "GCI launches new service called Yukon TV to replace cable television". Alaska's News Source (KTUU-TV). Retrieved February 23, 2022.
- ^ DeMarban, Alex (December 3, 2021). "GCI says to get with the times, it needs to drop its cable TV platform in favor of streaming. Some customers aren't pleased". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
- ^ "Alaska Public Broadcasting, Inc. - Alaska Rural Communication Service". Archived from the original on January 21, 2007.
- ^ "GCI to purchase NBC for Southeast Alaska KATH-TV and KSCT-TV". Retrieved November 9, 2012.
- ^ "APPLICATION FOR TRANSFER OF CONTROL OF A CORPORATE LICENSEE OR PERMITTEE, OR FOR ASSIGNMENT OF LICENSE OR PERMIT OF TV OR FM TRANSLATOR STATION OR LOW POWER TELEVISION STATION". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. December 9, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
- ^ "APPLICATION FOR CONSENT TO ASSIGNMENT OF BROADCAST STATION CONSTRUCTION PERMIT OR LICENSE". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. December 9, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
- ^ "Deal gives Atlanta company control of Anchorage TV news". Alaska Public Media. August 2, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
- ^ "fiber re:D – GCI".
- ^ "GCI".
- ^ "GCI WirelessNet - Rural Alaska's Internet Solution". Archived from the original on February 8, 2007. Retrieved January 22, 2007.
- ^ "Index". Archived from the original on January 6, 2007. Retrieved January 22, 2007.
- ^ "Alaska United | GCI's Alaska United Fiber Optic Cable System".
- ^ Balancing Responsibilities and Rights: A Regulatory Model for Facilities-Based VoIP Competition, National Cable and Telecommunications Association, February 2004. Accessed via http://ncta.com/DocumentBinary.aspx?id=318 Archived November 14, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Anchorage Daily News: GCI will pump $100 million into its network[permanent dead link]. Published January 12, 2008.
- ^ "GCI To Purchase Wireless Subscriber Base From Alaska Communications". December 4, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
- ^ "Spectrum Omega".
External links
- Business data for General Communication, Inc.: