ISP uses satellite service from SES to reach rural Alaskans

LUXEMBOURG/DUTCH HARBOR, Alaska – Residents, businesses, schools, healthcare clinics and other organisations in parts of Alaska can access city-wide WiFi and broadband services as always despite increased network demand due to the recent "Stay at Home" rule thanks to OptimERA Inc. significantly expanding its network capacity with SES Networks. The Alaskan Internet Service Provider (ISP) leveraged SES's NSS-9 satellite increased C-band capacity and ramped up its networks within days, underscoring the agility of SES's satellite services to rapidly address dynamic connectivity needs nearly anywhere in the world, SES announced today.

OptimERA serves the city of Unalaska and its surrounding towns and islands, including world-famous Dutch Harbor, the largest fishing port in the United States. Located in the Aleutian Islands, Unalaska has the largest full-time resident population in Southwest Alaska as well as many seasonal and part-time residents due to the fishing industry. OptimERA started working with SES Networks in 2017 to provide backbone capacity so the ISP could serve the residents and businesses of this remote location that is 800 miles from the nearest fiber-based network.

After Alaska's governor issued "stay at home" guidance to address the COVID-19 crisis at the start of April, OptimERA recognised the significant impact it would have on the residents and businesses of this remote community who would suddenly be working from home or unable to go to school or visit local healthcare providers. It would also dramatically change the volume of traffic on its network.

The additional capacity provided to OptimERA has enabled people in Unalaska to take advantage of online resources to stay connected with work, students and teachers to work on distance learning programs, and patients to do video calls with the healthcare staff at the local clinic to discuss symptoms or issues they are experiencing, which is especially critical now with COVID-19.

SES