A widespread internet and cellular outage in Sitka continued into the weekend. Sitka has been without internet access since Thursday (8-29-24) after an undersea fiber optic cable broke, cutting off the island from the online world.
GCI provides internet and cell service for most Sitkans. In an email to KCAW on Saturday (8-31-24), GCI Communications Manager Josh Edge said that a fiber repair ship is en route to the site of the break in the cable, and is expected to arrive in five to six days. Once on site, Edge wrote that the repairs could take up to six days depending on the complexity of the situation. Edge said GCI is working to fully restore service as quickly as possible.
On Friday evening, GCI reported that some texting, calling, and internet capabilities had been restored for its customers. Some Sitkans are reporting the ability to send texts and make calls in some areas of town, but the service is spotty and limited.
The Sitka Public Library is back online using satellite internet that is available to the public. The library is open for extended hours this Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with plans to return to regular business hours on Tuesday, September 3.
View previous report here:
https://www.kcaw.org/2024/08/30/sitkas-outage-could-be-from-a-break-in-a-subsea-fiber-optic-cable
