Alaska telecom finishes state’s first overland fiber-optic link to the Lower 48

A subsidiary of Matanuska Telephone Association has finished construction of the first overland fiber-optic cable connecting Alaska to not-Alaska. Having the cable means Alaska is no longer solely dependent upon a series of subsea cables for high-speed Internet and telephone service. Alaska’s subsea cables are vulnerable to earthquakes, and an overland connection offers a “geographically diverse route” for Internet traffic, said MTA CEO Michael Burke. The overland cable’s completion also means MTA no longer needs to pay “millions of dollars” per year to lease capacity in those undersea cables, which are predominantly owned by GCI and Alaska Communications. Francis LaChapelle, MTA’s vice president of wholesale and carrier relations, said the company expects to sell access to the cable to other telecommunications companies and doesn’t plan to offer Internet service itself to customers along the Alaska Highway. He said the company is also getting interest from the federal government.