Many customers of Alaska telecommunications company GCI will see the cost of their internet service increase next month.
Rates for what GCI calls its “No Worries” plan will increase 7 to 12 percent. That’s roughly $5 to $10 a month.
Company spokeswoman Heather Handyside said the increase is due to the cost of system upgrades in recent years.
“We have increased the speeds for this plan three times in the past two and a half years since we launched the plan with no increased costs to our customers,” Handyside said.
The fee for GCI’s most expensive service, with the fastest speeds and highest data limits, will not be affected.
Handyside said the company always tries to provide the best service to its customers and that has meant building up the network to fit their needs.
“The increases in the new technologies and investing in our network to make these better speeds and more data available, you know, require an investment, and sometimes those costs are passed on to our customers,” Handyside said.
GCI announced its sale to a larger, Outside telecommunications company — Colorado-based Liberty Interactive Corporation — in April.
Casey Grove is host of Alaska News Nightly, a general assignment reporter and an editor at Alaska Public Media. Reach him atcgrove@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Caseyhere.
