Broadband Landing In Remote Alaska

Fiber optic connections will be extended to areas of Kodiak Island and the Kenai Peninsula by Alcatel, which said Monday that it plans to lay the connections using its Maersk Defender cable ship.

The regional submarine cable network will be deployed under the auspices of the Kodiak Kenai Cable Company (KKCC), which is a subsidiary of the Alaskan Old Harbor Native Corp. The connections will span from Alaska's Anchorage and Seward cities to communities on Kodiak Island and the Kenai Peninsula.

As the second largest island in the U.S., Kodiak Island's 100-mile length, 60-mile width, and mountainous terrain make it one of the country's most remote regions. The fiber optics links will provide customers with voice, Internet, and data services.

"This achievement will enable us to give access to new, advanced services to a large number of residential and business users, while enhancing the security and quality of existing services," Walt Ebell, CEO of KKCC, said in a statement.

Alcatel said future capacity expansions of its submarine cabling solution via dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) will enable service providers to meet future traffic demands.