Marine Route Surveys for Connectivity in Alaska
Pioneer Consulting, a full-service submarine fiber-optic telecommunications consulting and project management company, has completed the marine route surveys for the “Fiber Internet Serving Homes” projects, which comprise the FISH West and FISH South submarine cable systems in Alaska. Contracted by Cordova Telecom Cooperative Inc., a member-owned telecommunications cooperative, the survey was completed in cooperation with Benthic GeoScience.
Pioneer Consulting supervised the survey and provided a representative on board the main survey vessel. Survey activities included:
- Investigation on board the seabed from a topographical view and a collection of actual seabed samples to determine the eventual route for the submarine cable
- Use of various geophysical and geotechnical equipment to map the seafloor and inspect the planned route for suitability or obstructions
- Multiple vessels operating in parallel over the course of months to conduct survey activities from cable landings out to the maximum water depths of the cable system
- Shore-end analysis of the seafloor via ROV
- Observation of protected marine species by trained environmental scientists on board vessels, who ensured no endangered species or other wildlife were harmed by the survey equipment
Next steps will include the compilation and analysis of the collected data, which will then be used by Pioneer Consulting to perform the final route engineering in preparation for cable manufacturing and, eventually, cable installation.
The FISH projects comprise two submarine cables: FISH West, which will run 300 km between Cordova and Seward, and FISH South, which will run 900 km between Cordova and Juneau. Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect Program, an initiative to provide connectivity to rural and underserved communities, the FISH projects will bring critical high-speed broadband service to some of Alaska’s most remote regions.
Pioneer Consulting has worked alongside Cordova Telecom Cooperative since 2022 with an initial feasibility study and will continue to spearhead project activities through installation completion and testing, which is expected at the end of 2027.