GCI buys Eyecom Cable in Girdwood
By Ken Smith
Turnagain Times
Anchorage based GCI Cable, Inc. has purchased Eyecom Inc's cable system in Girdwood for $500,000.
Eyecom held out for years from selling its Girdwood operation, but finally came to terms with GCI earlier this year and the state Regulatory Commission approved the agreement in April and GCI closed the deal on June 2.
GCI's purchase of Eyecom provides Girdwood residents with the first opportunity to have a cable system that is digital.
However, the process of converting the analog signal to digital may take a couple of years, said GCI vice president Dave Morris.
“To digitalize cable includes putting in new lines and new equipment to circulate the system,” he said.
New digital cables will be installed along utility polls and buried underground. The total cost to upgrade Girdwood's cable system is estimated between $1.5 and $2 million.
“That number can change,” Morris said. “Once you start remodeling the kitchen, you never know what you're going to find. It could be more, it could be less.”
He said it will probably take two summers to complete the upgrade.
“I think it's safe to say it will take until 2012 to digitalize Girdwood to see it fully deployed throughout the valley, “ he said.
GCI has experience upgrading cable systems. Ninety-eight percent of the cable service they provide throughout the state is digital, and every cable system the company's bought in Alaska has been an analog system that they upgraded to digital.
Even the Matsu Valley was all analog in 2003 when GCI bought the cable system from Rogers Communication Inc. After GCI completed the upgrade, Wasilla was the first all-digital system in the U.S.
Girdwood will be GCI's only cable system the company owns that will be operating with an analog signal.
But when Girdwood is brought into the digital age, local telecommunication customers will have the option for the first time to get cable channels in high definition—satellite channels are offered in HD in Girdwood, but the service is spotty due to the surrounding mountains and trees.
But for the majority of Girdwoodians, cable is the primary source of television with an estimated 500 subscribers. The exact number of home-owners and apartments in the valley is not clear, but an estimated 2,000 year-round residents live in Glacier Valley with another 2,000 second homeowners.
The Federal Communications Commission required that all television channels be digital by June of 2009, but some rural cable providers like Eyecom did not meet that deadline.
“You will find cable systems that still are analog like Eyecom, especially in rural areas,” said Morris. “If you have 30 million subscribers like Comcast, you'll get more scrutiny than if you have five or six hundred subscribers.”
Eyecom is a subsidiary of TelAlaska and has cable systems in Galena, Dutch Harbor and Unalaska. The company was bought by American Broadband Communications in July 2008 at which time GCI resumed talks with the company to purchase its Girdwood cable system.
Not only will Girdwood now have digital TV channels, but there will also be competition for internet and local phone services, now solely provided by Alaska Communications Systems (AT&T also provides options for long distance telephone service).
With its cable system, GCI will be able to offer the fastest possible internet connection in Girdwood at 12MB compared to ACS, which offers local businesses and residents DSL service with up to 4MB of speed for businesses and 3MB for residents.
“Since we'll have a viable product that will provide digital cable modem service, not just DSL, I think people will be significantly impressed by it,” said Morris.
Not to be overlooked are the communities of Indian and Bird, which may also benefit from GCI's digital upgrades in Girdwood.
The two communities north of Girdwood along the Seward Highway may be able to get cable service from GCI through a “break-out” which allows cables to be connected to the main cables along the highway.
“Getting Girdwood is the first step to make these two communities (Indian and Bird) viable for service,” said Morris. “It's not a certainty, but it's viable. If it's just by the street that's more likely, but extending back into the woods that's completely different service and is much more costly.”
