GCI announced last week that the first stretch of AIRRAQ Network fiber has been deployed in Alaska as it was laid on top of frozen tundra. Crews worked between Eek and Napaskiak, installing approximately 45 miles of fiber between the two communities. Once complete, the joint Bethel Native Corporation-GCI AIRRAQ Network fiber project will deliver 2.5 gig residential internet speeds, plans and pricing to 13 Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta communities.
This initial fiber deployment kicks off the AIRRAQ Network fiber project’s middle mile work, the majority of which is expected to be complete this year.
“To safely complete work during the late winter construction window, we flew two large reels of fiber stored in separate 20-foot-long containers from Anchorage to Bethel,” said GCI Project Manager Gustavo Ortega. “Once the containers landed in Bethel, our contractor partners from Utility Technologies Inc. placed the fiber reels on a large, enclosed sled and delivered it to the starting location in Napaskiak using a PistenBully tracked vehicle. The crews then deployed roughly 45 miles of fiber over the frozen tundra before reaching their stopping point at Apogak, just south of Eek.”
Crews will complete the remaining miles of the tundra route segment in the spring, crossing the Kuskokwim River and other smaller waterways enroute to Eek.
“We have a very busy summer ahead of us,” said GCI Principal Program Manager Rebecca Markley. “In addition to finishing the tundra segment between Napaskiak and Eek, we’ll also be deploying hundreds more miles of subsea and riverine fiber, and building and installing cable landing stations, fiber shelters and network equipment. As that work continues, we’ll also be completing design work that will lay the foundation for local network deployments in AIRRAQ communities later on.”
The overall project is supported by more than $100 million in broadband grants awarded by the NTIA Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program, the USDA Rural Development’s ReConnect program, and by private investment by GCI.
“It’s exciting to see AIRRAQ Network project crews beginning the installation of fiber in the region,” said Bethel Native Corporation President & CEO Ana Hoffman. “After many months of intense preparation for the deployment of this transformational technology, the anticipation within our communities is real. Watching the equipment launch onto the ice road, to lay the infrastructure that will connect our AIRRAQ villages, was truly special. This is a significant milestone. Through the AIRRAQ Network, BNC and GCI are working to close the digital divide in the Y-K Delta.”
Reader Interactions