Fiber Trenching

Burying cable in Arctic land requires covering larger distances and digging into frozen earth, all within a shortened build season.

UNDERSEA CABLING

A vast amount of the Arctic is covered in water and ice and requires laying cable undersea. Accessibility to cable beneath ice is limited and the location must account for potential ice sheering.  

SATELLITE

Some locations in the Arctic are so remote that they can only receive service via satellite, which requires an understanding of how to incorporate this technology into an existing IT network.

Weather

Weather conditions in the Arctic are some of the harshest, with extremely low temperatures and high winds. Construction and maintenance of infrastructure requires advanced planning and knowledge of the weather patterns. 

LOGISTICS

To construct and maintain a network in the Arctic requires the movement and coordination of equipment and people using helicopters, airplanes, and barges, all within a shortened build season.

Permitting

To ensure compliance with federal, state, and environmental regulations around building on Arctic land, extensive permitting knowledge and experience is required.

PRIVATE/PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS

Building Arctic infrastructure is often prohibitively high for companies and requires a combination of private and public investment. The ability to identify these funding opportunities and win them is essential to success. 

With TERRA, GCI has begun to realize the vision of bringing broadband to the Arctic.