BETHEL, Alaska – Bethel residents gathered this week for an afternoon of food, music, and celebration at a GCI-hosted community event serving up 5,000 Subway sandwiches and unlimited appreciation for local customers. The event marked a major milestone for the region as GCI and partner Bethel Native Corporation recently launched fiber internet and 5G mobile service in Bethel through the AIRRAQ Network.

Held at the Cultural Center, the event featured music from a live DJ, giveaways, and a guest appearance from American Ninja Warrior athlete Nick Hanson, plus 5,000 Subway sandwiches flown in specially for the occasion, nearly one for every resident of Bethel. But beyond the sandwiches and entertainment, the celebration underscored a transformative moment for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta: access to fiber internet speeds on par with Alaska’s largest cities and urban centers across the nation.

“Flying in 5,000 sandwiches might sound a little over the top, but this was a milestone worth celebrating,” said Senior Vice President and General Manager of Consumer Services Paul Landes. “Bethel’s leadership in the AIRRAQ Network deserves something big, and what better way than sharing a sandwich with nearly every neighbor in town?”

The GCI team expressed their sincere gratitude to Steve Adams and the crew at Subway of Alaska who worked tirelessly on the Alaska-sized to-go order, baking fresh bread and assembling the 5,000 sandwiches, then packing them up for the flight from Anchorage to Bethel for the big event.

With fiber internet and 5G mobile service now live, Bethel has become the first of 13 communities slated to connect through the AIRRAQ Network. The ambitious, multimillion dollar infrastructure project will deliver access to urban-level broadband speeds and unlimited data plans to more than 11,800 consumer customers across the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, supporting education, healthcare, local businesses, and daily life.

Learn more about the AIRRAQ Network fiber project at: https://www.gci.com/bethel-airraq-network.