A cable repair ship is mending a broken fiber optic cable that took Sitka offline in late August, but it could be close to a week until repairs are finished.
The British-flagged Cable Innovator arrived at the site of the break over the weekend.
“So when a break like this occurs, GCI is part of a professional service group that allows for these repair ships to become available in the rare event that we have a break,” said Jenifer Nelson in an interview with KCAW on Monday (9-9-24). Nelson is the senior director of rural affairs for GCI, Sitka’s primary internet and cellular service provider.
“The fiber repair shift then mobilized to get to Sitka and it arrived on site over the weekend,” Nelson said. “The crew aboard the Cable Innovator is actively engaged in efforts to repair the damaged fiber optic cable right now, so they are on site, actively working.”
The break occurred in a stretch of fiber optic cable between Sitka and Angoon in Salisbury Sound. Rumors that a cruise ship was involved in the break remain unsubstantiated. Nelson said the cause of the problem is still unknown.
“It’s rare for a fiber optic cable to break. There can be lots of reasons that this can happen, and we are just unsure at this time as to what the exact cause of the break was,” Nelson said.
Nelson said the repairs should be completed by the end of the week. Meanwhile, the company has restored basic internet and cell service using what Nelson describes as a combination of satellite and microwave technology, though Sitkans continue to report mixed results.
Nelson says GCI is offering a month of free credit to all customers affected, and apologizes for the inconvenience that limited internet has caused Sitkans. The credit will be automatically applied to customers’ bills.