Abandoned Alaska Navy base costs taxpayers $340,000 a year for unused internet

An investigation by the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica found that the U.S. government pays $340,000 annually to maintain internet service for empty and collapsing buildings on the former Naval Air Facility Adak in Alaska. The base, closed in 1997, now hosts a tiny civilian population of under 100 people, most of whom use Starlink satellite internet rather than the tax-funded broadband. Reporters visited every address on the roster and found no actual customers using the service, which is funded by the Universal Service Fund via fees on consumer phone bills. The island is so decayed that Marines use it for training in simulated chemical warfare and expeditionary operations. Despite the waste, there are proposals to revive the base as a strategic outpost against Russian aggression.