Commercial and consumer service ready for launch in five northern Alaska communities
Quintillion announced that testing is complete and its subsea fiber optic cable system will be launched in five northern Alaska communities on December 1. Quintillion is a bandwidth services provider and expects its customers to be live shortly thereafter, enabling high speed broadband capability to consumers and businesses in these communities. Crews completed installation of the Alaska Arctic portion of the international Quintillion Subsea Cable System in early October. The system performed flawlessly during test mode and will now be made available to service providers in Utqiaġvik, Wainwright, Point Hope, Nome and Kotzebue, enabling 21st century communications in the Alaska Arctic for the first time.
Quintillion’s cable system will deliver gigabit and higher bandwidth services on a 1,400 mile subsea and terrestrial fiber optic network, including a subsea trunk line from Prudhoe Bay to Nome with branching lines to the five communities. Most of the cable installation occurred in 2016 and crews added resiliency to the system this summer and installed the last 40 miles of cable, completing in October.
The Quintillion system will provide access to high speed broadband capacity for telecommunication service providers at far lower cost and improved quality of service than existing satellite and microwave options. Introduction of high-speed internet to Quintillion’s markets will enable improved health and education services, help spur economic development, empower local businesses, and allow consumers access to video and other high-speed applications that were previously unavailable or unaffordable for many potential Quintillion end-user customers.
“We are truly excited to announce that the Quintillion system is ready for service,” said George M Tronsrue III, Quintillion’s Interim CEO. “The Quintillion system makes it possible for local service providers to offer the same world-class products and services available long ago to consumers in the Lower 48. We look forward to helping our enterprise partners in the landing site communities serve their customers faster, better and more cost effectively.”
In addition to the subsea cable system, Quintillion’s new terrestrial fiber has been installed between Fairbanks and Prudhoe Bay that connect these northern Alaska communities to the Pacific Northwest, as well as to serve the Prudhoe Bay oil fields. This terrestrial system was launched and has been providing commercial service since last spring. The three phase Quintillion Subsea Cable System is ultimately intended to connect Asia to Western Europe via the Northwest Passage through the Alaska and Canadian Arctic.