On This Nearly Deserted Alaska Island, You Pay to Keep Hundreds of Empty Buildings Wired for Internet

“Not a single one told us they subscribe to the island’s subsidized internet service.”

Adak has about 24 residents and roughly $14,000 in federal broadband subsidy per person per year. Over $340,000 annually goes to wiring buildings that are empty. Adak Eagle has pulled $3.6 million from the broadband program, $3.54 million more from an FCC long-distance revenue replacement scheme, and $3.75 million from Alaska’s state fund. The reporters could not find one subscriber. The money flows on the count of buildings, not the count of customers, and nobody at the FCC checks.