$30M AK Fiber Line Planned

Officials with telecommunications provider GCI announced a plan this week to build a $30 million, 754-mile fiber optic network in southeast Alaska.

The miles of cable will connect Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Angoon and Sitka to the Alaska United West line currently connecting Alaska to the lower 48, GCI said. The cable will also provide a second fiber link to Juneau, creating a SONET ring that provides alternative routing and overflow traffic handling capabilities.

The new network will service more than 50,000 people, GCI said. Residents in Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Sitka and Angoon are currently serviced through microwave and satellite networks. Once the fiber link to these communities is complete, space will be freed up on the microwave and satellite network, allowing other rural communities to increase their speed and access to services.

The new fiber network will have the capacity to meet future needs in Internet, phone and video services, GCI said, and is scheduled to be active by November 2008.

For more information, visit: www.gci.com