Photo courtesy of Quintillion.
After months without service, Northwestern Alaska communities may soon have internet access again.
The undersea fiber-optic cable servicing the region broke in January, most likely due to sea ice scouring. Two vessels waited in Wainwright on the Northwestern Alaska coast until sea ice conditions were favorable enough to sail into the Beaufort Sea and effect repairs to the cable off Alaska’s northern coast. The vessels are equipped with innovative equipment that can dig a trench about ten feet deep to protect the cable from future breaks. Quintillion, the telecommunications company that installed the cable, estimates that repairs will be complete by the end of the year.
January marked the second time the cable broke in two years, with each break followed by a months-long regional internet outage. The completed project, including a backup overland cable, should prevent long-term regional internet outages in the future.
These internet outages underscore how essential radio is for Western Alaska. Thank you for keeping KNOM on the air to serve the region!
