AU-Aleutian

Overview

AU-Aleutian is a domestic submarine cable system serving the state of Alaska, United States. With a total length of 1,491 km, it operates entirely within U.S. territory, connecting remote communities along the Alaska Peninsula, the Kodiak Island archipelago, and the eastern Aleutian Islands chain. The cable provides submarine connectivity across a coastal corridor that spans some of the most geographically isolated communities in the United States.

Route and Landings

All fourteen landing points are located in Alaska, United States. The cable reaches communities across two geographic concentrations: several landings on and near Kodiak Island, and a series of landings extending along the Alaska Peninsula toward the Aleutian Islands.

• Akutan, AK
• Chignik Bay, AK
• Chignik Lagoon, AK
• Chignik Lake, AK
• Cold Bay, AK
• False Pass, AK
• King Cove, AK
• Kodiak, AK
• Larsen Bay, AK
• Ouzinkie, AK
• Perryville, AK
• Port Lions, AK
• Sand Point, AK
• Unalaska, AK

Ownership and Operators

AU-Aleutian is owned and operated solely by GCI Communication Corp, an Alaska-based telecommunications provider that serves communities throughout the state, including many rural and remote areas where terrestrial infrastructure is limited or absent.

Status and Timeline

AU-Aleutian became ready for service in 2022 and has been operational for approximately four years. It is among the more recently deployed submarine cable systems in the United States.

Regional Context

The United States hosts a large and diverse submarine cable network, with 75 cables landing across 119 landing points. AU-Aleutian, at 1,491 km, is shorter than the majority of U.S.-connected cables — longer than roughly 23% of the other cables touching the same country — which reflects its role as a regional, intra-state system rather than a transoceanic link. Cables sharing the U.S. corridor include large intercontinental systems such as Project Waterworth, the Southern Cross Cable Network, and the Asia-America Gateway Cable System, each operating at scales many times greater than AU-Aleutian. AU-Aleutian serves a fundamentally different purpose: dense, multi-point connectivity across a compact but difficult coastal region.

Strategic Role

By connecting fourteen Alaskan communities along the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island area through a single cable system, AU-Aleutian brings submarine fiber connectivity to towns and villages that are not reachable by road and where satellite or limited wireless links have historically been the primary option. The concentration of landings across this corridor reflects the cable's design around serving multiple small communities within a defined geographic area rather than linking major population centers over long distances.