GCI set to launch 1 Gbps service in Fairbanks; Execulink Telecom targets Delhi, Ontario

Alaskan telecom provider GCI plans to offer 1 Gbps Internet to Fairbanks customers by 2016, making Fairbanks the third community in Alaska where GCI has promised to deliver faster Internet speeds. GCI previously announced plans for 1 Gbps service in Juneau and Anchorage.

Across the border, meanwhile, Execulink Telecom announced its intention to deliver 1 Gbps service to the town of Delhi, Ontario.

GCI's faster Internet speeds are dependent on the telco's ongoing fiber optic buildout. Further, the rollout of 1 Gbps speeds won't change the company's data usage cap, Paul Landes, GCI's vice president of consumer services, told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Currently, GCI's fastest plan--250 Mbps--comes with a data cap of 500 GB per month, which Landes said helps GCI manage network traffic and ensure advertised speeds. He also said that some Fairbanks customers could see faster speeds before 2016.

Alaska has become something of a hotbed for faster Internet speeds. Verizon debuted service in the state less than a month ago, the newspaper noted.

Execulink CEO Ian Stevens, in a press release, said that "speed is becoming increasingly important" and that the provider's new service will boost previously available speeds by 65 times.

For more:
- the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner has this story
- Execulink Telecom has this press release

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