During this unprecedented time, as many of our business customers shift the nature of their operations, it is important for us to share the critical steps we are taking to keep our customers connected.
GCI continues to have available network capacity. We are always focused on monitoring and maintaining our networks in order to prepare for the growth and spikes to come in usage during this time. We regularly forecast network demand and make appropriate adjustments to network capacity to ensure that your service works the way it’s supposed to. Below is a summary of the status of our network and those preparedness steps.
Network Summary
GCI works every day to provide our business and residential customers timely, quality, and value-based services. While there is no carrier telecommunications network built to allow for every potential user to be online simultaneously, we have carefully designed our networks to have excess capacity, even in high-usage times.
Our Network Services team has been using modeling tools to predict usage and adjust key infrastructure to flex to heightened demand.
As a community, state, nation, and world, we are facing a situation not experienced in our modern lifetimes. We are well-prepared to provide the services you rely on, and while no one has a clear historical perspective due to the nature of the coronavirus pandemic, GCI has taken steps to serve you through this time.
Fiber & Terrestrial Microwave Core Backbone Facilities
We have seen an increased use of our core backbone network due to additional demands from businesses and public agencies, people who are working from home, and students and families at home due to school and other closures mandated by local and state authorities. Even with this increased demand, we have not yet seen any adverse impact to our network. GCI has taken steps to further augment our capacity between Alaska and the Lower 48 by increasing capacity on our route-diverse, redundant, and high-capacity fiber networks between Southcentral Alaska, Seattle, and Portland. We also have multiple high-volume connections to internet peers in several locations, also with additional capacity.
HFC (Hybrid Fiber Coax) and other Access Facilities
Logically, in seeing the increased demand on our core backbone networks, we have also seen a corresponding increase in demand on our local access plant. As an ongoing part of our network planning and maintenance program, GCI works at the node level to optimize the experience for our customers. Our network is currently performing at or above expectations, and we are closely monitoring performance 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We have ongoing response plans if there are service issues that occur in one or more areas.
Wireless Networks
Our wireless network is currently performing as expected, and we are carefully monitoring its ongoing performance and taking proactive steps to adjust network elements as needed. The wireless network experience is governed both by wireless spectrum and frequencies deployed in the RAN (radio area network) as well as the actual wireless device itself.
Other Preparedness Actions
GCI has taken an interdisciplinary and comprehensive approach, continually adapting our preparedness and business continuity plans to the rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic.
- GCI has established a dedicated COVID-19 response team (CRT) that includes company leadership representing all critical functions. This team supports the organization around the ongoing assessment of, and response to, business risk.
- We are committed to following the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other local and state public health agencies to help prevent the spread of illness in Alaska.
- We are using technology tools to enhance collaboration and replace face-to-face meetings and to ensure that critical business functions proceed as usual to the greatest extent possible.
- We continue to monitor for physical and cybersecurity threats and are proactively mitigating those emerging threats.
- Our CRT is working hard to ensure these policies evolve and stay current in response to the rapidly changing situation at the local, state, and national level.
- GCI is continuing to test our ability to respond to customer needs and manage our network remotely.
GCI is executing our robust and evolving plans and is working hard to keep you connected. Given the unknowns with these unprecedented events, it is important to note that due to the fluid nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, both GCI and our customers may experience unanticipated events outside of our control.
We sincerely appreciate your business and wish you and your families wellness and peace in these turbulent times.
Sincerely,