Alaska Akiak became the first LEO village in the United States

As Californiamedia reported on Oct. 22, the first community in the U.S. to install a OneWeb broadband satellite terminal was Akiak in southwest Alaska. The Akiak Indigenous Community, in partnership with telecommunications providers Pacific Dataport and Microcom, installed the first OneWeb Low Earth Orbit (LEO) user terminal in the state, making Akiak the first LEO village in the United States.

Image source: capacitymedia

Akiak's project is "the result of a months plan and the FCC's recent grant of 2.5GHz spectrum to tribes across the United States." The Akiak Native Community is a federally recognized Indian-Native American tribe that owns Akiak Technology, Inc., a wholly owned tribal business.

Kevin Hamer, President and CEO of Akiak Technology, said: "We are providing affordable broadband internet to 100% of homes and businesses because we have strong and loyal tribal leaders and outstanding project teams. As core members of our team, Pacific Dataport and Microcom provide oneWeb LEO solutions and support Akiak Technology in unserved tribal communities in southwestErn Alaska to bridge the digital divide. ”

Pacific Dataport will provide services that support high-speed broadband connectivity for end and backhaul in the OneWeb LEO community. The community's user terminals use Cambium technology provided by Microcom to communicate with satellites in the air and connect to a community-wide distribution system. The broadband signal will be distributed through a tower, and each home will have a small antenna connected to the Wifi router.

OneWeb coverage will give residents access to very fast broadband and create conditions for telemedicine, education, business and entertainment. Residents will be able to play TV and music, hold meetings and play games through two-way video software.

(Compiler: Liu Shuang)