ProPublica said this year it is investigating Alaska internet companies, and it is asking Alaskans to fill out a quick survey about how much they pay to get online and what they think of the service.

The request lands in a state where many people pay higher costs for slower internet speeds than most Americans, even after the government has spent billions of dollars of public money trying to fix the problem. ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative newsroom that says it exposes corruption and reports in all 50 states, said it wants to hear from residents directly because the gap between what Alaskans pay and what they get has remained stubborn.

For people in Alaska who cannot access the internet, reporter Kyle Hopkins said they can reach him by phone or WhatsApp at 907-854-8540. ProPublica said it will add more options for participation soon, widening the ways residents can respond as the project moves ahead.

The newsroom also said it takes privacy seriously and will contact people if it wants to publish any part of their story. That caution matters in a place where broadband service is often sparse, expensive and uneven, and where getting online can shape everything from work to school to basic communication.

The push comes as internet access remains one of Alaska’s most persistent public frustrations. Billions of dollars have already been spent in an attempt to fix it, but the basic complaints remain familiar: service that is slower than people expect and bills that are higher than most Americans pay. Similar disruptions have shown how dependent daily life has become on the internet, whether the problem is a mobile outage or a wider break in digital access, and Alaska’s challenge has been stubborn for years.

What ProPublica is gathering now is more than a survey. It is a map of who is still left behind, what they pay for the connection they have, and whether the public money aimed at solving the problem has delivered anything close to a fix.