Submarine Cables & Alaskan Connectivity

Abstract

This case study explores the way submarine fiber-optic cables have become a precarious but essential lifeline to high-speed internet connectivity in Alaska. Since broadband access is central to education, business, and healthcare, the geography of Alaska, climate, and low population density present ongoing hurdles to digital equity. The study tracks the evolution from dial-up to broadband and examines how sub-sea cables—installed along the ocean floor and connecting remote communities to the needs of the rest of the network—are maintained and upgraded. It documents the threats that this infrastructure is subject to, detailing how ice scour, fishing, and other activities have caused long-term outages that impact daily life, emergency services, and local economies. For example, failures of cable in 2023 and 2025 took thousands of residents out of routine phone or internet for weeks. The case illustrates that submarine cables are a technical achievement, but not a solution to systemic connectivity problems, especially for Native Alaskan villages without electricity. It argues that infrasupportive infrastructures require technological innovation only insofar as they are received by regulation, cultural sensitivity, and community engagement. Lastly, the study dares policymakers to learn a lesson from Alaska's experience that bridging the digital divide needs locally focused solutions rather than uniform solutions.