Telecommunications

Heather Hudson will discuss her new book, Connecting Alaskans: Telecommunications in Alaska from Telegraph to Broadband, on Monday, October 26, from 5 to 7 in Room 307 of the UAA/APU Consortium Library. Dr. Hudson is an affiliate professor of communications policy at ISER and was ISER's director from 2010 to 2012. This is a UAA Campus Bookstore event, and it is free and open to the public.

Connecting Alaskans, published by the University of Alaska Press in September 2015, describes the history of extending communication services—telephone, radio, television, and the Internet—throughout rural Alaska. The book analyzes successful policies and strategies to serve Alaska’s remote regions, and describes how Alaskans’ innovation, advocacy, and persistence helped connect more than 200 isolated villages. It also discusses the role of telecommunications in Alaska’s rural development.

Free parking for this event is in the Library Lot, Library NE Lot , and the East Garage (see map). For more information, get in touch with Rachel Epstein at 907-786-4782 or repstein2@uaa.alaska.edu.

A new book by Heather Hudson, an ISER fellow and former director, documents the history of telecommunications in Alaska over a century, from the beginnings of telegraph communications through the spread of broadband today. Dr. Hudson describes the considerable challenges of bringing reliable telecommunications to a huge state with hundreds of small isolated communities, difficult terrain, and harsh weather. The 380-page book is available in both printed and electronic versions from the publisher, the University of Alaska Press.

For ordering information, please visit Connecting Alaskans.

Professor Hudson can be reached at hehudson@uaa.alaska.edu.

A new study by ISER researchers Heather Hudson, Suzanne Sharp, and Alexandra Hill describes how businesses, government agencies, and schools are using broadband that is now available in much of southwest Alaska. The results are based on a telephone survey of private and public organizations in the region.

Download the report (PDF, 643.8KB). If you have questions, get in touch with Dr. Heather Hudson at hehudson@uaa.alaska.edu.

After three years as director of ISER, Heather Hudson has decided to step down at the end of 2012. Gunnar Knapp, a professor of economics at ISER, has been appointed interim director effective January 1, 2013. 

Heather Hudson will be on leave during spring 2013, writing a book on the history of telecommunications in Alaska and carrying out other research projects before returning to the ISER faculty later in the year. Dr. Hudson came to ISER from the University of San Francisco, where she founded the Telecommunications Management and Policy Program. 

Columbia University’s Institute of Tele-Information (CITI) has appointed ISER’s director, Heather Hudson, as one of about 20 Inaugural CITI Fellows. 

Broadband (high speed Internet) is being extended to 65 communities in Southwest Alaska. As part of its ongoing research on the role of telecommunications in the socio-economic development of rural Alaska, ISER is conducting a telephone survey in SW Alaska in June. The purpose of the survey is to learn about current access to the Internet and what different high speed Internet could make for residents of the region.