Leigh Horner doesn’t have cable TV. If she and her family watch any television, they watch the random mix of programming on the Alaska Rural Communication Services (ARCS) channel, the free, low-power service provided to 235 communities across Alaska.
The service, formally called RATNET, was originally created decades ago by the state to provide television and a means of emergency communication to rural areas. The programming is a mix of public and commercial network and…