August 22, 2025

What are sun outages?

A sun outage, or sun fade, happens when a satellite orbits directly between the earth and the sun, interrupting satellite signals for several minutes at a time. This affects satellite-provided services, including mobile and internet services. Sun outages happen semi-annually, around the last week of February and first week of October each year. The disruption generally does not last longer than about 15 minutes a day for several consecutive days.

When is the next sun outage period?

Sun outages typically happen twice a year in Alaska — once in the spring and once in the fall.

The interruptions may occur on a few consecutive days during the period and last up to 15 minutes in the mornings, Alaska time. Some communities may be impacted again for up to 15 minutes in the afternoons. The dates and times of impact vary by community.

The following communities may be affected:

Adak
Akhiok
Akutan 
Ambler
Anaktuvuk Pass
Anchorage
Aniak
Arctic Village
Atka
Atqasuk 
Barrow / Utqiagvik
Beaver
Bethel 
Birch Creek 
Brevig Mission
Brewster 
Buckland
Chignik Lake
Chignik
Chignik Lagoon
Clarks Point 
Cold bay 
Cordova
Cripple
Crooked Creek
Deadhorse
Deering
Dillingham
Dutch Harbor / Unalaska
Eagle
Eagle River
Egegik
Ekuk
Elim
Emmonak
Fairbanks
False Pass 
Fort Yukon
Frontier
Galena
Gambell
Golovin
Goodnews Bay 
Gustavus
Hooper Bay
Kaktovik 
Karluk
Kiana
King Cove 
King Salmon
Kivalina
Kobuk
Kodiak
Kotlik
Kotzebue 
Koyuk
Minto 
Nelson Lagoon
Nenana
Nikolai
Nikolski
Nome
Noorvik
Old Harbor
Ouzinkie
Perryville
Pilot Point
Point Hope
Point Lay
Port Heiden
Port Lions
Sand Point
Savoonga 
Selawik
Shaktoolik
Shismaref 
Shungnak
Sitka
Sleetmute
St George
St Marys
St Michael 
St Paul 
Stebbins
Stony River 
Teller
Togiak
Toksook Bay 
Unalakleet 
Venetie
Wainwright
Wales
White Mountain 
Yakutat

When was the last sun outage period?

From February 20 to March 2, 2025, customers in satellite-served communities experienced service interruptions.