Cablefax The Magazine - July 2011 - 24

INDEPENDENT OPERATOR OF THE YEAR
GCI
When Bob Ormberg, VP of content
and product management at Alaska's
GCI heard his company had been
named CableFAX's Independent Operator
of the Year, he was a bit surprised.
After all, GCI isn't exactly in the center
of it all. " The challenge with Alaska is
you're kind of out of sight, out of mind,
off the grid, " Ormberg says. " So we
don't get some of the attention or the
press because of where we're located
on the globe. " Well, it turns out that
GCI has plenty of admirers. " This forward-thinking
company embodies the
independent operator's perseverance,
fortitude and capability to not only
serve rural America, but to provide the
cutting-edge communications services
that are typically available in more
urban areas, " says Rob Shema, COO
of the American Cable Association.
Founded in 1979, GCI has a 45
percent share of Alaska's long-distance
market and is
the state's largest
provider of Internet
services with cable
modem, wireless
and dedicated access.
Its cable service passes 90 percent
of the state's households with 64
percent penetration, and GCI launched
120 HD channels just a few weeks
ago. Meanwhile, GCI is on target to
complete a fi ber-microwave network
one year ahead of schedule that will
provide land-based broadband services
to more than 65 rural villages in
southwest Alaska. It will also connect
healthcare facilities, schools and native
organizations. Dubbed TERRA-SW, the
project stems from a $88 million loan
and grant from the Rural Utilities Service
as part of the Stimulus Act. GCI
wanted to extend the project to cover
20 Northern villages in the Norton
Sound and Kotzebue Sound areas but
didn't receive federal funding for that
aspect. However, it now plans to build
out those areas in smaller pieces over
time using other funding methods.
Ormberg credits GCI's success and
determination to each one of its 1,600
employees, who labor in a state not
exactly known for a hospitable climate.
" You've got to be pretty hardy to deal
with the weather, terrain and travel, "
Ormberg says, noting the weather
swings so wildly that you might see
FAST FACTS
■ GCI has roughly 20 head-ends, and 15 are connected via fiber. " If you look
at the size of Alaska, that's quite an investment and engineering accomplishment, "
Ormberg says.
■ GCI is the telecommunications sponsor for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
■ The company has a huge retail presence, with stores in every community it
serves. " It is kind of mind boggling, " Ormberg muses, " but a lot of people
like to stop in the store to pay their bills. "
Bob Ormberg
24
cablefaxmag.com
July 2011
CableFAX: The Magazine
60 below in Fairbanks in the winter and
100 degree heat in the summer. GCI's
community spirit also extends beyond
its backyard. For example, this indie
has been helping to provide telecom
logistics for those working to clean up
the BP oil spill in the Gulf. Now that's
real dedication.
Beyond providing communications
services, GCI is the primary sponsor of
the Alaska Academic Decathlon, an academic
competition open to students
from high schools throughout the state.
GCI not only helps fund the event, it
holds a charity golf tournament to help
raise money for it. " We don't spend a
lot of time advertising our involvement,
so we're not gaining new customers
or creating a huge amount of positive
points for the next customer poll, " says
GCI senior corporate relations manager
and AAD director Curtiss Clifton.
" What we are doing is helping students
throughout the state fi nd fulfi llment in
academic achievement. " With such
commitment to its customers and
communities, it's no wonder that GCI
has become such a success. Even
operating off the grid. ■
-Christine Champagne
http://www.cablefaxmag.com

Cablefax The Magazine - July 2011

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