On a nearly deserted Alaska island, you pay to keep hundreds of empty buildings wired for internet

By: Kyle Hopkins, ProPublica and Anchorage Daily News

Outlets: Alaska Beacon

Published: July 21, 2026

Words: 1,963

Last Updated: 4 weeks, 2 days ago

Body Text Preview

This story was originally published by ProPublica and Anchorage Daily News.

On an island in the Bering Sea 1,200 miles from Anchorage, Alaska, sits an abandoned house on an abandoned Navy base. There is no furniture, and the wind blows through broken windows. The last people to live here moved away long ago. Yet a bright orange pipe with a black fiber-optic cable inside runs from the outer wall down into the surrounding soil.

The …

Create a free account to access this story and more

Join Plucky Wire to access full stories, collaborate with newsrooms, and discover content from networks around the world.

About

FAQ

Email Us