ANCHORAGE– Quintillion today announced the successful completion of its subsea fiber optic cable repair and burial project near Oliktok Point. All internet service providers connected to the Quintillion network have fully restored service to affected communities.
Using specialized equipment, crews aboard the CanPac Valkyrie buried the repaired section of cable deeper beneath the seafloor—adding an important layer of protection against future risks from sea ice and other Arctic environmental challenges.
“This cable repair and burial project marks an important milestone for Quintillion’s ongoing efforts to strengthen and safeguard Alaska’s connectivity,” said Michael “Mac” McHale, President of Quintillion. “By securing this portion of cable at a greater depth—using advanced tools that weren’t available two years ago—we’ve enhanced the long-term resilience of our system in one of the most dynamic marine environments on earth. That added protection strengthens and hardens the network—helping us deliver on our mission to connect more Alaskans to each other and the rest of the world.”
The completion of the repair and burial marks the first step in Quintillion’s broader resiliency initiative, which also includes two major infrastructure projects underway:
- A planned 1,000-mile subsea fiber extension from Nome to Homer, which will complete a high-capacity “fiber ring” encircling the entire state of Alaska and provide physical fiber route diversity.
- A new 180-mile terrestrial fiber route between Prudhoe Bay and Utqiaġvik, which will provide inland redundancy in the North Slope region and provide additional physical fiber route diversity.
Together, these projects will create a multi-layered redundancy architecture, significantly enhancing network resilience. Once complete, the upgraded system will allow seamless traffic rerouting in the event of service disruption.
About Quintillion
Quintillion is a private U.S.-based telecommunications company that owns and operates the first and only fiber optic cable system in the U.S. Arctic. Its mission is to connect more Alaskans to each other and the rest of the world through high-speed, reliable broadband infrastructure.