Work Nearly Done on Alaskas First Fiber-optic Terrestrial Link to World Wide Web, Via Canada


Matanuska Telephone Association says it is close to completing a fiber-optic cable network that will reach Alaska. The AlCan ONE network will stretch from the North Pole to Alaska’s border. The cable will then connect to a new Canadian fiber-optic network. That project is being built by Northwestel, a Canadian telecommunications company. The project was briefly delayed because regulators required some wetland areas to freeze before construction could begin. Officials say AlCan ONE should be operational by the spring and will be Alaska’s only terrestrial fiber-optic cable linking Alaska to the Internet.