The nationwide Starband system is offered in Alaska by Microcom of Anchorage, which has installed 150 units so far, according to Microcom's Tom Brady. The system is aimed at residential and light commercial users, such as small businesses or lodges, and is being used in Barrow, Sand Point, Nome and Kotzebue, he said. Government agencies including the National Park Service and the Federal Aviation Administration also are using Starband satellite services, Brady said.

Starband is one method Alaskans are using to provide broadband Internet service in rural areas.

Private companies, regulators and other state officials are seeking ways to reach rural Alaska areas that lack inexpensive dial-up service with Internet access. Bush residents are typically faced with high costs for Internet service.

Earlier this summer two Alaska telecommunications providers announced plans for expanded rural Internet service.

Alaska Network Systems, whose shareholders are 12 Alaska local telephone companies, applied in June for a $24 million federal grant to fund Internet service to 139 Alaska villages.

Also, General Communication Inc. outlined a plan in late June for providing high-speed Internet access for the 152 rural Alaska communities it serves by 2004.

The Starband system, however, is not cheap and thus hasn't drawn larger customer numbers, Brady noted. Installation costs about $1,500 and monthly service runs $69.99, he said.

Microcom's product is not necessarily ideal for everyone, he said. Brady also acknowledged the dilemma of Internet service across the state.

"Providing broadband Internet for rural Alaska is not a profit center, especially if you are providing it for the masses," he said. "Starband is an individual making a decision (to use the product)."

Microcom helped TDX Corp., the Native corporation for St. Paul, configure an Internet access system. TDX runs a cable network with about 130 subscribers including 70 cable modem subscribers, he said. Brady believes corporation officials are providing the system as a service rather than money maker.

Juneau-based McDowell Group Inc. lists some of these rural Alaska Internet entrepreneurs in its Telecommunications Services Inventory of Rural Alaska report released in January. The report was compiled for the Denali Commission.

Starband customers choose the service for different reasons, not always based on large numbers of users, he said. Brady recalled one initial Starband customer who wanted Internet access at his home rather than driving 20 miles into Kodiak to surf the Web.

Three years ago in McGrath a need for faster speeds spurred invention. Frustrated by slow connections, Ernie Baumgartner, general manger of McGrath Light and Power, researched the possibility of becoming an Internet service provider.

Extensive research with Alaska Internet experts -- plus Baumgartner's own 30 years of experience with Alascom, GCI and others -- resulted in McGrath having its own dial-up system, he said. A wireless Internet option from Spectrum Wireless Services was also put in place.

"We started out pretty carefully," he said.

One key for McGrath was its proximity to an AT&T Alascom earth station, said Dan Ferguson, Spectrum co-founder and director of research and development.

He also cited Baumgartner's own experience.

"The real advantage for McGrath Light and Power was picking up Ernie as general manager. With his telecommunications background he knew this was something that could be accomplished, and it turned out to be a very wise decision."

Ferguson pointed out that one important factor is considering what costs a particular market can bear.

About 410 people live in McGrath, and Baumgartner reports the ISP has 75 Internet accounts, which include businesses with multiple computers.

However, a community with a smaller population might have a trickier time starting a local ISP, Baumgartner said. "If we were half this size I don't know if it would work because of the upfront costs," he said.

The company invested $70,000 to set up the system, he noted. Today, the service is paying its way, he said.

The company currently charges $32 per month for the wireless service and $42.50 for dial-up service, he said.

McGrath Light and Power also hopes the Internet access serves to boost the local economy with a link to international commerce. At least one resident's life has changed as a result of the ISP. During start-up of the McGrath service, Baumgartner sent 14-year-old computer aficionado Isaiah Norton for training in Anchorage and later dispatched Norton to study installation of the system.

"That kid has turned into a whiz-bang system administrator," Baumgartner said, analyzing Norton's two years of service.