Annual GCI TERRA Refueling Effort Keeps Off-Grid Towers Running, Alaskans Connected
© Sutthipong Senathee | Dreamstime.com
GCI has launched its annual project to refuel twenty-two remote mountaintop towers that are part of the company’s TERRA network. The TERRA (Terrestrial for Every Rural Region in Alaska) network is a massive $300 million GCI infrastructure project serving 45,000 Alaskans in eighty-four rural communities. Far from power grids and urban sprawl, situated in some of the state’s most rugged terrain, reachable only by helicopter, these towers must be able to stay running and self-sufficient for months at a time.
Assisted by local contractors with specialized helicopters, GCI crews will make more than 200 round trips this summer to deliver approximately 102,000 gallons of diesel fuel to these remote sites. The refueling effort is critical in order to power the network that keeps Western and Northwest Alaska clinics, schools and community residents connected.
“Local partners like Bering Air and Yukon Helicopters play a key role in keeping rural Alaska connected,” says Senior Director of GCI Facilities & Rural Network Operations JD Schultz. “And working with local pilots who know the terrain and the challenges that go along with it helps ensure that we can safely and efficiently complete this project every year.”
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As GCI builds and maintains its network and infrastructure, including the refueling effort at these remote towers, the company takes special precautions to ensure the safety of Alaska’s ecosystem. Flights are planned for certain times of year to avoid interfering with things like caribou migrations and subsistence hunting. During the TERRA refuel, helicopters fly at least 1,500 feet above the ground, weather permitting, to minimize disturbances to wildlife. And if there are caribou or other animals visible near the site, crews will adjust flight routes to avoid contact.
“Serving a state as big as Alaska with so many rural and remote communities is a challenge, but our dedicated rural-based technicians are more than up for the task,” Schultz says. “We have technicians and site agents in nearly every community we serve. We’re your neighbors. Our family and friends live here, too. That’s why we work so hard to make sure our techs are well-prepared to keep our network running and ready to serve all our customers.”
Each mountaintop repeater site has one or two 4,500-gallon tanks. Arctic diesel fuel is hauled in between 410 and 440 gallons at a time by helicopter. Refueling each site takes as many as 16 different trips up the mountain.
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