Changing times: Southeast to get a $30 million fiber optic network, connecting towns there to the Lower 48.

• Author: Colby, Nicole Bonham
• Position: ALASKA WASHINGTON CONNECTION

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Where "location" is everything in the real estate world, the critical factor in the technology realm is "Connection! Connection! Connection!" That concept of a viable link to the Outside is critical for a state like Alaska--almost considered its own global economy, set apart by geography and industrial niches that are seemingly magnified to fit the grand scope of the 49th State. Such connections particularly come into play when considering the symbiotic relationship shared by Alaska and its immediate Pacific Rim neighbor, the Puget Sound and Pacific Northwest.

SWEET SOUNDS OF A SONET

Southeast Alaska--Alaska's famous Panhandle, closer in mindset and miles to Vancouver than to Anchorage--is even further distinguished from both its home state and Puget Sound cousins. Distinguished by physical landscape and distance, by its waterborne economy and challenging weather; and, up until now, distinguished in that certain of its key communities did not enjoy a fiber optic connection to the outside world. But that factor, at least, is changing--and fast, typically of the technology world.

Alaska-based GCI, founded in 1979, announced in the fall that it would build a $30 million fiber optic network in Southeast Alaska, connecting Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Angoon and Sitka to the Alaska United West line that currently links Alaska to the Lower 48. In turn, the cable will also provide a second fiber link to Juneau, creating a Synchronous Optical NETwork (SONET) ring that increases network traffic-handling capability through alternative routing.

Currently residents in the communities use microwave and satellite networks. In turn, other towns will also benefit, as traffic moves to the fiber optic link and frees up space on the microwave and satellite links still in use by other towns. In the business world, the ability to increase the speed and convenience of connecting to the global economy is a make-or-break factor--particularly in the areas of rural and small-business development, where successful operators must be competitive and on par with their counterparts across the globe. The impact of faster service can be increased economic development opportunities--for example, locations with hyperfast connections increase their chances of appearing attractive to companies looking to outsource. "This fiber optic network will provide new and faster services to more than 50,000 people in Southeast Alaska," said Richard Dowling...