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Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc.

alsk · NASDAQ Communication Services
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Ticker alsk
Exchange NASDAQ
Sector Communication Services
Industry Telecommunications Services
Employees 501-1000
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FY2004 Annual Report · Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc.
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Letter To Shareholders Continued:

Looking Ahead

Our path for 2005 is clear.  We will grow the number of 
loyal customers by competing as an integrated telecom 
company.    

We will continue to Enhance the Overall Customer Experience 
Customers’ needs defi ne which products we deliver 
and we aim to provide the best quality products in the 
state.  Our unique mix of assets in Alaska – statewide 
wireless and wireline – allows for functionally-integrated 
products and allows for tremendous growth in the 
industry’s hottest areas – wireless and DSL.  Alongside 
these high-demand services, ACS also serves our 
customers’ local and long distance voice and data needs, 
encompassing all elements of the telecom wallet.   Our 
goal to make it easier to do business with ACS has 
driven us to open additional retail outlets, extend our 
work hours, enhance our bills, cross-train our sales 
representatives and much more.  We listen as customers 
tell us which products they need and how they would 
like to receive them.

We will be known as Alaska’s Premier Wireless Provider 
Record growth in our wireless subscriber base represents 
Alaskans’ vote of support for the ACS CDMA network.  
Our CDMA 1xRTT and EV-DO (3G) network features 
the best voice quality, fewest dropped and blocked calls, 
and highest mobile data speeds in Alaska.  In fact, our 
wireless data network is arguably the most advanced and 
complete anywhere in the country given our customers’ 
typical travel patterns.  Customers can take ACS wireless 
across the state and maintain their mobile voice and data 

sessions.   The strength of our wireless product allows us 
to attract new and win back former customers, each also 
a prime candidate for other ACS services.

We will Grow Within our Cost Structure
Our assets and our customer-centric focus allow 
us to achieve much growth from within.  But even 
that growth comes with cost.  Our approach toward 
profi table and effi cient growth centers on process 
improvement initiatives that are standardizing practices 
and streamlining functions, which in turn release the 
funds necessary to support our growth in revenues.  We 
reap additional benefi t in that these same actions also 
improve the customer experience. 

Our strategy to compete as an integrated 
telecommunications provider refl ects what customers 
want, it differentiates us from our competitors and it 
represents a smart economic model for ACS.   We will 
sharpen our market competitiveness as we continue 
to drive improved quality, as we deploy advanced 
technologies and as we contain costs.  Throughout the 
company, we are confi dent in our ability to deliver on 
these objectives as we grow ACS.

I thank you for your support of Alaska Communications 
Systems. 

Sincerely,

Liane Pelletier

ACS Completes 
Debt & Equity Refi nancing
February 2005

ACS Increases Dividend 
to Shareholders 
March 2005

Innovative Collective 
Bargaining Agreement Effective
March 2005

Dividend Reinvestment 
Plan Initiated 
April 2005

2004

Letter to Shareholders

Corporate Headquarters:  Alaska Communications Systems, 600 Telephone Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99503          907.297.3000

NASDAQ: ALSK          Investors Web Address: www.alsk.com          General Web Address: www.acsalaska.com      

WIRELESS            INTERNET            LOCAL            LONG DISTANCE            TELEVISION

Dear Fellow ACS Shareholder:

2004 marked a year of signifi cant progress for Alaska 
Communications Systems.  Our execution centered on 
a customer-focused business model, which clearly drove 
benefi ts for customers, Alaskan communities, employees 
and shareholders.  Our commitment to delivering a 
quality customer experience is the daily expression of 
ACS’ competitive growth strategy.

During 2004, we translated this growth strategy into an 
operating model.  We operate as “One ACS” rather than a 
collection of product-centric divisions.  We have leaders 
in the business who are distinctly focused on individuals, 
on enterprises and on other telecom carriers.  These 
leaders are streamlining how we do business, enhancing 
our customers’ experience and reducing our costs of 
operation.  

Our goal has been and is to grow the number of loyal 
ACS customers within each segment, and in 2004 we 
made great progress.  In terms of retail relationships 
established, by year-end we had grown to approximately 
400,000 and reached a milestone of 100,000 wireless 
subscribers.  These retail relationships allow us to grow 
our share of wallet through cross-selling, bundles and 
highly differentiated integrated offerings.   Today, few of 
our customers purchase all of their telecommunications 
services from ACS, yet ACS has its own statewide local, 
long distance, internet and wireless networks to serve 
them.  As a result, we enjoy a wonderful organic and 
effi cient growth model. 

These customers are also our neighbors and we recognize 
our responsibility to the communities we serve – after 
all, “Alaska” is our fi rst name.  ACS and its employees 
contribute their fi nancial support, time and commitment 

Retail Relationships

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Wireless Subscribers

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to many organizations, events and civic activities 
throughout Alaska.  Through our civic work and our daily 
work, our investment in leading edge communications 
services enables Alaskans to grow and prosper.  

ACS employees have both embraced and benefi ted from 
the transformation taking place at ACS.  As one example, in 
March 2005, the members of our local union, IBEW Local 
1547, approved an extension of the collective bargaining 
agreement through 2009.  This new agreement affi rms our 

employees’ confi dence in the company as the union 
members elected to take ACS common stock in lieu of 
cash cost-of-living increases in future years.  In fact, 
the confi dence of all segments of the employee base is 
evident as we saw a 40%+ increase in Employee Stock 
Purchase Plan participation from the beginning of 2004 
to date.

We face the future with the strongest balance sheet in 
our history.  Earlier this year ACS concluded a series 
of capital market activities, which reduced borrowing 
costs, lowered our debt-to-equity ratio and resulted in a 
much broader base of shareholders including many new 
institutional investors.  We initiated a cash dividend 
policy in October 2004, with the fi rst quarterly cash 
dividend of $0.185 per share paid in January 2005.  The 
successful fi nancial restructuring and our continued 
ability to generate cash from operations enabled a 
subsequent increase in the quarterly cash dividend to 
$0.20 per share.

ACS Stock Price

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CDMA
1xRTT Launch
May 2004

Wireless Broadband 
(EV-DO) Launch
June 2004

ACS Named to 
Russell 3000 Index
June 2004

Functionally Integrated Product 
Launch: Mobile-To-Home
August 2004

ACS Initiates 
Dividend  Program
October 2004

“The ACS customer-driven 

approach has delivered 

superior products and 

services to a growing base 

of loyal customers.”

Liane Pelletier
President, CEO and Board Chair

Board Chair
 Liane Pelletier

Board of Directors
Gary R. Donahee  -  John M. Egan  -  Saul A. Fox
Byron I. Mallott  -  W. Dexter Paine, III  -  Patrick Pichette
Brian D. Rogers  -  Charles P. Sitkin  -  Wray T. Thorn