Anchorage based Alaska Communications (ALSK) and Quintillion Holdings have formed a partnership to Acquire North Slope Fiber optic network owned by ConocoPhillips. ACS-Quintillion team’s business interests and investments in the netwrok will bring reliable, high-speed broadband to better serve businesses and enterprises on Alaska’s North Slope oil fields.
Alaska’s North Slope oil and gas industry customers will get advantage of the deployment initiatives from the partnership and will have access to reliable, high-speed broadband services. Alaska Communications is Alaska’s leading broadband and IT solutions provider and Quintillion Holdings is Alaska’s new face in business to provide high-speed communication services. It was in April that thsese two companies acquired a fiber optic network from ConocoPhillips in the portion of Alaska’s North Slope oil patch where most new development is occurring. ConocoPhillips is one of the leading exploration and production companies in Alaska.
Alaska Communications have signed a service agreement with ConocoPhillips. Current broadband technologies in the North Slope is based on microwave and satellite communications. Such communication networks are sensitive to weather conditions. The quality of services depends most often on the environmental changes. Also microwave telecommunication networks are limited in their bandwidth capacity. Subscribes accessing internet through microwave and satellite communication based networks experience poor connectivity and slow speed. This is where the fiber optic networks come to the rescue of telecom service providers.
Investment in fiber optic networks where high-cost microwave and satellite communications are deployed may look like luxury investment, but there are long term benefits that fiber optic networks can bring to the region and service providers. High speed high bandwidth services can attract more subscribers, that will translate in to revenue increase. Access to high speed reliable broadband netwroks will enable subscribers to start their online work and business. Local businesses can connect with potential customers worldwide to increase sales.
In addition to Alaska Communications’ focused service offerings to business and enterprise customers, Alaska Communications and Quintillion have partnered to make this network available to other telecom carriers in the market, further increasing the variety of new product and service offerings. By purchasing a network on the North Slope, the partners enhanced their ability to support state’s economy as well as business and enterprise customers. The North Slope oil and gas producers along with the support and service contractors will benefit from increased broadband and managed IT solutions competition. In addition, they will gain access to the latest technology applications, enabling them to operate at greater efficiency, reduce operating costs and increase safety.
Quintillion has plans to expand its networks to increase the availability of services over fiber optic cable in remote regions of Alaska that will provide access to all telecom service providers in Alaska over a period of two years. The current networks expansion by Quintillion contemplates a new fiber optic connection between Deadhorse, on Alaska’s North Slope, and Fairbanks, and the construction of a underssea optical fiber connection from Prudhoe Bay to Nome. Investment in fiber optic networks will improve connectivity to oil and gas fields including the Kuparuk River Unit, Colville River Unit, Milne Point Unit, Prudhoe Bay Unit and Oooguruk Unit, among others.
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