In terms of download speeds, 1 gigabit per second is fast. Really fast. And as of Wednesday afternoon, with the push of a button by Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, Internet users in the neighborhood of Rogers Park became the first in the state to have the option to bring 1-gig Internet into their homes.
Like many tech upgrades, getting to 1 gig requires some motivation and the willingness to shell out some extra cash. The service is available only to customers of GCI and will work only on the latest smartphones, computers and other devices. Routers 12 months or older won't cut it. A modem that isn't yet in widespread use is also necessary, but GCI is offering one as part of the subscription.
"It's the fastest Internet available in Alaska and, on a consumer basis, anywhere in the country," said GCI president and CEO Ron Duncan.
Duncan said 8 percent of GCI's consumer subscribers statewide, excluding business clients, have signed up in advance for 1-gig service. That's about 8,000 customers. By the time the company has completed the full expansion, which is slated to include the Railbelt and Southeast Alaska, it will have spent $20-25 million, he said.
One gig isn't for everybody. Duncan described the archetypal customer as a household with many people using devices simultaneously to download movies or other large files.
"We have families who download 300-400 Netflix movies a month. And that's where you really need this ... if you have four kids watching four different TVs or maybe watching two movies at once," he said. "If it's just you on your iPhone, you probably don't need a gig."
The necessity of 1-gig Internet has been questioned in tech publications PC World and MIT Technology Review, as well as Slate.
But supporters see it as a way to lay the foundation for a future generation of tech infrastructure that may be unimaginable today, but will seem indispensable not long from now.
More than two years ago, Julius Genachowski, the former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, voiced his support for at least one 1-gigabit community in each state by 2015.
"American economic history teaches a clear lesson about infrastructure. If we build it, innovation will come," Genachowski said in a statement in January 2013. "The U.S. needs a critical mass of gigabit communities nationwide so that innovators can develop next-generation applications and services that will drive economic growth and global competitiveness."
But how reliable will the new service be? In describing the 1-gig plan, the GCI website offers download speeds of "up to 1 gigabit per second," meaning customers could be paying for less than that.
"It should be pretty reliable. If you're not routinely getting something in the 900 (megabit) range, you should call us and figure out where the blockage is," Duncan said.
Customers can check Internet speed using speedtest.net.
Download speed is not the only consideration when choosing an Internet plan. The amount of data that can be downloaded each billing period is also a concern. One gig essentially allows consumers to get more water from the faucet faster, but the total amount of water per customer is still subject to limitations.
The cap on data is what differentiates GCI from rival ACS, which has no cap on the amount of data that can be downloaded each month, according to ACS spokeswoman Hannah Blankenship.
ACS offers 1-gig service to business customers, she said, but has not announced plans to offer the option to the consumer market.
As for what to do with all that speed, creativity in many cases will be the key.
"We're giving our customers the opportunity to reinvent services," Duncan said. "It's up to you to do all the things with a gig that we haven't thought of yet."