GCI $125 Million Fiber Optic Cable In Service

GCI has taken delivery from Tyco Submarine Systems Ltd. (TSSL) of its new $125 million, 2,331-mile fiber optic cable system that connects Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau to Seattle with broadband fiber capacity.

The cable is able to deliver 22 times the current fiber optic capacity available to the state for a total of 129,024 simultaneous voice or data calls. When combined with cable modems on GCI's upgraded cable television network, the new cable will extend high speed, broadband connectivity to most Alaska homes.

The GCI cable runs terrestrially from Anchorage to Whittier, AK and undersea on to Seattle. A branching unit, located 630 miles southeast of Whittier, connects Juneau to the cable network. A second undersea cable has been constructed between Whittier and Valdez, AK. From Valdez, the cable follows the TransAlaska Pipeline to Fairbanks.

In December 1997, Kanas Telecom Inc. and GCI agreed to a swap dark fiber on their respective systems, completing GCI's fiber optic network to Fairbanks and providing Kanas with access to Anchorage.

Capacity
GCI fiber optic cable has an initial service capacity of 2.5 Gbits per second and is upgradeable to four wavelengths for a maximum service capacity of 10 Gbits per second. The system is designed to incorporate advanced fiber optic technology and the capability of upgrading via Wave Division Multiplexing (WDM) as GCI's capacity needs increase. The system's collapsed ring configuration provides traffic protection for the entire system.