Quintillion Awarded $25 Million USDA Grant to Boost Broadband in Hooper Bay

AK, UNITED STATES, December 19, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Quintillion, a leading telecommunications provider operating across Alaska and the Arctic region, was awarded a $25 million U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Utilities Service (RUS) ReConnect Round 5 grant to build high-speed broadband to the Native Village of Hooper Bay.

“The families who call Hooper Bay home deserve to have the same access to affordable, high-speed internet as those in urban Alaska,” said Quintillion President Michael “Mac” McHale. “Enhanced fiber optic broadband capacity will not only improve residents’ access to critical public safety, education, and health care services, it will also strengthen our state’s defense capabilities. We thank members of our federal delegation, the RUS team, state leaders and, most importantly, residents of Hooper Bay for helping Quintillion connect more Alaskans to each other and the rest of the world.”

William Naneng, who formerly served as Hooper Bay mayor and city administrator, applauded the announcement.

“About five years ago, Hooper Bay started a charter school and also tried to support private instruction outside the regular school setting, but sporadic internet service made learning challenging,” said Mr. Naneng, who currently serves as General Manager of Sea Lion Corporation, which helped develop the school. “Students who wanted extra help through online tutoring services faced long delays and system messages that read ‘still connecting.’ Our children and grandchildren will soon be able to access the same level of high-quality educational tools as the rest of the world. We thank Quintillion for the partnership to achieve digital infrastructure equity.”

The Hooper Bay Broadband Project will utilize Quintillion’s subsea fiber extension, currently under construction through funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Middle Mile Grant. A branch unit offshore from Hooper Bay will bring a subsea cable ashore, linking to a new beach manhole and cable landing station in the community. From there, a fiber-to-the-premises network will deliver broadband directly to every household, business, and community anchor institution in Hooper Bay.

Quintillion is a private global communications corporation located in Anchorage. Quintillion built, owns, and operates subsea and terrestrial high-speed fiber-optic networks serving communities in rural Alaska.

The Quintillion Team
Quintillion Global
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