Ah, Alaska… home to the northern lights, 3 million lakes — and the slowest average internet in the US.
Alaska’s low population density and outdated submarine fiber networks have kept connections slow, but telecom company MTA announced plans to build a terrestrial line to make Alaska’s first stable connection to the contiguous US.
This could be huge
The new, scalable network will lower current (high) transport costs and — in theory — reduce expenses for Alaskan families and businesses.
The underground cable will run along the highway from North Pole (the town), carrying the gift and cheer of 100+ Tbps connection speeds — benefiting Alaska’s economy, web security and education.
But don’t hold your breath
Although project construction is underway, most communities won’t see the new internet link until 2020, and many rural Alaskan communities remain unreachable.
Still, the state’s overall network should be somewhat improved by “new satellite technologies” and other fiber-optic rollouts.