Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association Selects Alaska Communications for Managed Network and Videoconferencing Services

Alaska Communications (NASDAQ:ALSK) is pleased to announce that it has signed a new, three-year strategic agreement with the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association (ASHNHA) to provide the Alaska Rural Telehealth Network (ARTN), a network of small, rural and remote hospitals and clinics across Alaska, with managed network and videoconferencing services.

The Alaska Rural Telehealth Network provides its six member hospitals and clinics with access to specialty physicians and state-of-the-art healthcare through telemedicine services, including teleradiology and digital imaging. It is designed to serve more than 50 percent of Alaska’s rural and remote population.

Under the terms of the agreement, Alaska Communications will provide transport for imaging and teleradiology, videoconferencing, Internet, voice over Internet and other managed services to ARTN’s members across Alaska.

The services provided by Alaska Communications enable ARTN’s member hospitals and clinics to connect patients in rural Alaska to healthcare providers, even when a doctor or specialist is not available on site. Additionally, the services facilitate ongoing distance education for workers in the rural clinics.

“The Association needs a secure network and services that it can depend on to deliver healthcare to our patients across the state,” said Karen Perdue, ASHNHA president and chief executive officer. “Alaska Communications’ proven track record for outstanding customer service, managing complex data networks, high-definition videoconferencing capabilities and expansive medical networks in Alaska and the Lower 48 made Alaska Communications the ideal partner for us.”

“The ARTN network is a great example of how technology can transform the delivery of healthcare. Our medical network takes advantage of all of our business data solutions – connectivity, videoconferencing and professional IT services from our partner, TekMate. Combining those with medical-grade data security and around-the-clock network monitoring and customer service, we effectively increase the access to, and the quality of, healthcare for patients in rural and remote Alaska,” said Michael Wynschenk, Alaska Communications senior vice president of sales.

For more information on Alaska Communications Healthcare Solutions, visit www.alaskacommunications.com/healthcare.

About Alaska Communications

Headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska Communications Systems Group, Inc. (“ACS”) (NASDAQ:ALSK), through its subsidiaries, provides Alaska Communications services and is Alaska's leading provider of broadband and other wireline and wireless solutions across businesses and consumers. The Alaska Communications wireline operations include the state's most advanced data networks and the most diverse undersea fiber optic system connecting Alaska to the contiguous United States. The company’s wireless operations include a statewide 3G CDMA network, reaching across Alaska from the North Slope to Ketchikan, with coverage extended via best-in-class CDMA carriers in the Lower 49 and Canada. By investing in the fastest-growing market segments and attracting the highest-quality customers, Alaska Communications seeks to drive top- and bottom-line growth, while continually improving the customer experience and cost structure through process improvement. More information can be found on the company's website at www.alaskacommunications.com or at its investor site at www.alsk.com.