Fiber optic connections: Alaska linked globally undersea.

• Author: Bohi, Heidi
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION: IT/COMMUNICATIONS

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Telecommunications has been one of the single most important contributors to quality of life and economic development in Alaska--quite possibly more significant than for any other state in the union--offering a practical connection to the outside world and delivering the future to a state that is remote and still coming of age. Along with electricity, gas, roads, bridges, and sewer and water systems, this core infrastructure component continues to be essential to growth, education, and health and safety for Alaska villages and cities that would otherwise still be struggling to make their way in the 21st century.

In today's information age, fiber optics is the advanced telecommunications network that provides proximity and access to resources and markets--as critical to business activity as close proximity to raw materials and markets was during the industrial age. Fiber optics give Alaska residents and businesses the ability to send and receive high-quality voice, data and video telecommunications, while increasing the viability to attract new industries, businesses and professionals as geographic distance and low-density population become archaic barriers of the past.

The heaviest use of fiber is in the telecommunications industry. Telephone companies initially used fiber to transport high volumes of voice traffic between central office locations. During the 1980s, telephone companies began to deploy fiber throughout their networks, allowing them to "future proof" networks, meaning they have unlimited bandwidth, which is the measurement of the data carrying capacity of the media--in this case fiber. The greater the bandwidth is, the more information that can be transmitted.

MORE FIBER LESS COPPER

As fiber optics continues its 15-year momentum in Alaska, several telecommunications companies are investing in fiber optic technology and applications that will greatly benefit private homes and many industries, including oil, health care, military, industrial, data storage, networking and broadcast. Copper has bandwidth and distance limitations, now making it less desirable. In addition to a higher bandwidth for voice, video and data application, optical fiber can carry thousands of times more information than copper wire: a single-strand fiber could carry all the telephone conversations in the United States at peak hour. It is also lighter than copper. While copper weighs about 80 pounds per 1,000 feet, fiber is only nine pounds per 1,000 feet. It is also more reliable, has a longer life span and is more secure because fiber does not emit electromagnetic interference and is difficult to tap.

ACS AKORN

Alaska Communications Systems (ACS) completed the $70 million acquisition of Crest Communications Corp. last year...