CGI kickstarts network deployment in Alaska

Managed services provider CGI confirmed earlier this month that it has begun the first part of its network fiber deployment in Alaska, installing approximately 45 miles of fiber over the frozen tundra between Eek and Napaskiak. This is part of a project between Bethel Native Corporation and GCI to deliver high-speed Internet to Bethel, Alaska, and 12 other communities in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region.

“To safely complete work during the late winter construction window, we flew two large reels of fiber stored in separate 20-foot-long containers from Anchorage to Bethel,” said GCI project manager Gustavo Ortega.

“Once the containers landed in Bethel, our contractor partners from Utility Technologies Inc. placed the fiber reels on a large, enclosed sled and delivered it to the starting location in Napaskiak using a PistenBully tracked vehicle. The crews then deployed roughly 45 miles of fiber over the frozen tundra before reaching their stopping point at Apogak, just south of Eek.”

“We have a very busy summer ahead of us,” added GCI principal program manager Rebecca Markley. “In addition to finishing the tundra segment between Napaskiak and Eek, we’ll also be deploying hundreds more miles of subsea and riverine fiber, and building and installing cable landing stations, fiber shelters, and network equipment."