Ketchikan continues planning for fibre optic link that will connect community with Prince Rupert and beyond

A fibre optic infrastructure project that will give Ketchikan access to the larger Northern American fibre optic network out of Prince Rupert is still in the planning stages.

Though progress is being made with Ketchikan Public Utilities recently presenting its case for access to an area of shoreline in the Southeast Alaska community for the under sea line to come ashore.

Ketchikan's public radio station KRBD outlined some of the details of the request to the Ketchikan Gateway Borough with a report in late May.

Earlier this year we outlined the involvement of Prince Rupert based CityWest in the project, with CityWest providing at that time some background for the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources as to the work in laying the fibre pathway to Ketchikan that it will be part of.

The Ketchikan project is designed to be an upgrade to the current Microwave digital connection, once in place and in operation, the sub sea fibre link is expected to provide better service and Internet access for residents of the Southeast Alaska community.

The sub sea fibre project to the north is one of two out of town fibre projects that CityWest is involved with at the moment, the Prince Rupert based communication company is also part of a partnership to deliver a sub sea fibre optic link to Haida Gwaii, the Central Coast and Vancouver Island.

The Connected Coast project is part of an ambitious Federal/Provincial initiative to deliver improved communication services to rural and remote areas of the province.

It is a project that Premier John Horgan made mention of in the closing day of the Spring session of the Legislature, noting how it will assist the communities in gaining access to services.

Locally, CityWest continues to move forward with its own Fibre to the Home project, which has seen CityWest workers laying kilometre after kilometre of fibre optic line across the city.

In February, CityWest observed that they were on target towards having half of Prince Rupert served by the fibre line by the end of this year.

For more items of note related to CityWest see our archive page here. 

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