please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article s lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its contents . please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article . please discuss this issue on the article s talk page . december 2012 this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . december 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message general communication inc. type public traded as nasdaq gncma industry telecommunications founded 1979 headquarters anchorage products cable television service internet access and wireline networking and cellular telephone number of employees 1 734 2012 website www.gci.com general communication inc. gci is a telecommunications corporation operating in alaska . through its own facilities and agreements with other providers gci provides cable television service internet access and wireline networking and cellular telephone service . contents 1 history 2 products 2.1 television 2.2 internet 2.3 wireline telephone 2.4 wireless telephone 3 see also 4 references 5 external links history edit gci was founded in 1979 by ron duncan and bob walp . 1 on november 10 2005 the company reported third quarter profits of 2.3 million down from 9.3 million during the same three months of 2004 . 2 products edit television edit based in anchorage gci provides cable television service to approximately three quarters of alaska residents . 1 gci has upgraded most of its network to support digital cable broadcasts and provides high definition broadcasts in some of the state s larger cities . 2 gci leases an array of analog and digital cable boxes including hd and dvr digital cable boxes to its customers . in 2008 gci discontinued analog cable service to anchorage residences moving to a fully digital platform . gci also provides content to the state operated alaska rural communications service satellite system which in turn provides free over the air broadcasts of commercial and public television programs to 235 rural alaskan communities . 3 on november 9 2012 gci announced plans to purchase ktva a cbs affiliated television station in anchorage along with kath ld and ksct lp the nbc affiliated stations in southeast alaska . 3 on december 9 2013 gci filed to acquire the cbs affiliates in southeast alaska kxlj ld in juneau ktnl tv in sitka and kubd in ketchikan . 4 5 internet edit gci provides access to the internet via multiple means . as of january 2015 gci provides cable modem services in major cities in alaska with download speeds up to 250 megabits per second or mbps re d plan . in mid 2015 gci will be deploying its fiber re d 6 network in the anchorage area first with download speeds up to 1 gigabit per second 1 000mbit s . to start that campaign gci has increased its highest home internet plan re d from 50mmbps to 100mbit s and then to 250mbit s for free in all available areas that has access to the re d plan . the re d plan is currently to this date 174.99 and when the re d 1gbit s fiber network launches the price will remain the same . in the rural cities of nome cordova bethel and barrow gci provides high speed cable modem services but uses a satellite for the backhaul connection as the cost to lay cable to these remote areas is prohibitively expensive . 4 in some rural communities where gci does not have a cable tv infrastructure it provides lower bandwidth 56 512 kbit s wireless internet access over a satellite backhaul . 5 through its own facilities and agreements with other providers primarily alaska communications systems gci provides data network and internet connections via gpon dsl pri leased lines such as a t1 and other high bandwidth business class products . these services are aimed at the business market . 6 the state government is a major customer of gci using gci s infrastructure to provide the backbone for the state s wide area network . gci maintains local access numbers throughout the state for analog dial up service . gci however no longer offers dial up service to customer accounts but will continue to support customers who are grandfathered into the service . gci also owns alaska united fiber optic cable system which connects anchorage and fairbanks with internet points of presence in seattle and portland . 7 gci leases capacity on their system to other internet providers in alaska including clearwire wireless broadband . wireline telephone edit gci offers local telephone service in many alaskan markets as well as intrastate and interstate long distance . as the competitive local exchange carrier gci primarily contracts with the incumbent local exchange carrier alaska communications systems to provide the local loop from gci s switches to customers . this practice is known as une loop . gci is currently deploying digital cable telephony based on packetcable technology in barrow as a replacement for the analog copper . in gci s implementation the connection between the gci head end and the subscriber s emta uses ip packets but is interconnected with gci s more traditional circuit switched infrastructure and backbone . 7 gci also provides legacy as well as cisco voip telephony for many customers including the state government . wireless telephone edit through an agreement with dobson communications systems which provided tdma and gsm cellular service under the cellular one brand gci formerly sold gsm cellular service under its own name while providing dobson with the back end network infrastructure . at & t s purchase of dobson however resulted in an agreement on december 3 2007 that released dobson now under the at & t wireless brand from its contract to use gci for its back end network on july 1 2008 ; at & t wireless now uses existing at & t alascom networks . gci will continue to contract with at & t wireless for the use and resale of its products and services through june 30 2012 but will also invest 100 million in its own network . it also plans to spend approximately 10 million to complete its acquisition of the remaining 20 % of alaska digitel a competing cdma based cellular carrier . 8 on december 4 2014 gci agreed to purchase the wireless assets of alaska communications for 300 million . the deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015 . 9 see also edit list of united states telephone companies other cable based services 2010 alaska turbo otter crash references edit gates nancy . the alaska almanac facts about alaska . p. 210 . general communication inc. reports 2.3 million quarterly profits . gci to purchase nbc for southeast alaska kath tv and ksct tv . retrieved nov 9 2012 . application for transfer of control of a corporate licensee or permittee or for assignment of license or permit of tv or fm translator station or low power television station . cdbs public access . federal communications commission . december 9 2013 . retrieved december 12 2013 . application for consent to assignment of broadcast station construction permit or license . cdbs public access . federal communications commission . december 9 2013 . retrieved december 12 2013 . fiber re d gci . balancing responsibilities and rights a regulatory model for facilities based voip competition national cable and telecommunications association february 2004 . accessed via http ncta.com documentbinary.aspx id 318 . anchorage daily news gci will pump 100 million into its network . published january 12 2008 . gci to purchase wireless subscriber base from alaska communications . 2014 12 04 . retrieved 2014 12 05 . external links edit official website gci schoolaccess gci connectmd business data for general communication inc. hoover s bloomberg reuters sec filings v t e united states wireless communications service providers national at & t mobility sprint corporation t mobile us verizon wireless public regional atlantic tele network gci u.s. cellular private regional c spire wireless cellcom cellular one claro puerto rico gta teleguam iconnect indigo wireless iwireless open mobile united wireless west central wireless mvnos virtual list of united states mobile virtual network operators defunct defunct virtual operators advanced mobile phone service airtouch alaska communications alltel at & t wireless services cincinnati bell dobson cellular edge wireless element mobile first cellular of southern illinois houston cellular midwest wireless nep wireless nextel communications northcoast pcs ntelos pocket communications powertel primeco revol wireless rural cellular suncom unicel upoc networks western wireless corporation v t e united states landline telephone companies alaska communications at & t centurylink cincinnati bell claro puerto rico earthlink emery telcom fairpoint communications frontier communications gci gta teleguam hawaiian telcom tds telecom verizon communications windstream communications v t e cable satellite and other specialty television providers in the united states cable adams cable advanced cable communications allegiance communications altice usa suddenlink communications armstrong atlantic broadband blue ridge communications broadstripe buckeye broadband cable one charter spectrum time warner cable bright house networks comcast xfinity cox communications docomo pacific emery telcom fairpoint communications full channel gci hargray mediacom midco northland communications onelink communications satview broadband service electric srt communications tds tpg grande communications rcn corporation truvista communications wave broadband wow satellite at & t directv claro dish network glorystar headend in the sky home2us fiber iptv at & t u verse centurylink prism tv cincinnati bell fioptics claro consolidated communications frontier fios google fiber gta teleguam hawaiian telcom midco nep datastream tv nextv america stealth communications tds telecom verizon fios windstream kinetic over the top apple tv netflix amazon video hulu sling tv pluto tv playstation vue crackle seeso cbs all access hbo now showtime starzplay lifetime movie club curiositystream dramafever hotstar tubi tv feeln noggin roku sony liv yupptv univision now defunct cable tv adelphia communications corporation alameda power and telecom1 astound broadband at & t broadband mediaone continental cablevision tele communications inc. baja broadband bresnan communications champion broadband cobridge communications graceba total communications insight communications jones intercable king videocable knology marcus cable npg cable paragon cable rapid communications teleprompter group w cable ua columbia cablevision us cable windjammer communications 1 still in operation but no longer offers cable or internet as part of its services defunct satellite alphastar globecast world tv primestar united states satellite broadcasting voom hd networks defunct iptv sky angel virtual digital cable defunct terrestrial aereo usdtv moviebeam see also radio spectrum pollution v t e additional resources on north american television north america list of local television stations in north america dtv transition north american tv mini template canada canadian networks list of canadian television networks list of canadian television channels list of canadian specialty channels local canadian tv stations list of united states stations available in canada 2001 vancouver tv realignment 2007 canada broadcast tv realignment mexico mexican networks local mexican tv stations united states american networks list of american cable and satellite networks list of american over the air networks local american tv stations w local american tv stations k 1994 united states broadcast tv realignment 2006 united states broadcast tv realignment list of canadian television stations available in the united states insular areas tv africa asia and oceania americas europe retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title gci company & oldid 729688068 categories 1979 establishments in alaskacable television companies of the united statescommunications in alaskacompanies based in anchorage alaskacompanies listed on nasdaqtechnology companies established in 1979telecommunications companies of the united stateshidden categories wikipedia introduction cleanup from december 2012all pages needing cleanuparticles covered by wikiproject wikify from december 2012all articles covered by wikiproject wikifyarticles needing additional references from december 2012all articles needing additional referencesofficial website different in wikidata and wikipedia navigation menu personal tools not logged