GCI Fiber Line Break Repaired After Alaskan Blizzard

Jan. 12, 2026 – GCI in Alaska repaired a damaged subsea fiber line near Unalaska in the Aleutian Islands that occurred about two weeks ago after blizzard conditions produced 110 miles per hour wind gusts and heavy snow. 

The damaged fiber break in last-December meant a temporary loss of cellular and Internet service for thousands in Alaska, especially those in rural areas. According to an email from GCI spokesperson Josh Edge to Policyband’s Ted Hearn, the cause of the fiber break is unknown.

“Crews will continue to work in the area as conditions allow. Customers will automatically receive service credits applied to their accounts. We appreciate our customers’ patience as our teams worked to restore services as quickly and as safely as possible,” Edge said.

The fiber break near Unalaska represents the latest of GCI’s undersea fiber network complications and internet service delays. After a break in a subsea fiber cable in March 2025, Juneau suffered a brief phone and internet outage. The service failure was the third in a series of undersea fiber complications affecting multiple providers since the summer of 2024. 

This fiber line fix also comes amid growing concerns regarding the use of subsea fiber cables due to security risks and physical damage vulnerabilities. 

In July 2025, Broadband Breakfast honed in on the impacts and concerns that global conflict has on subsea broadband infrastructure and global connectivity. 

More recently in September, undersea cables were cut in the Red Sea, disrupting internet service in both Asia and the Middle East. These subsea cables are one backbone of the internet, proving essential to communication and connectivity.