If you’re a TelAlaska customer who’s been having trouble with the internet this week, you’re not alone.  Company spokesperson Celine Kaplan says the company has been doing upgrades to its network that are affecting internet services. Kaplan says information about the upgrades is proprietary, but added that it’s related to several new internet packages the company will be rolling out in the near future.  She couldn’t provide a definitive timeline for completion of the maintenance work, although she did say that it shouldn’t be affecting cellular service or cable television.

 Kaplan also says that solar activity might be partly to blame for outages.  She says there’s been increased activity since February 22 that’s expected to last through March 9.  An Alaska Wireless sales representative confirmed that sunspots would be affecting that company’s network this week as well.