Update: North Slope & Northwest internet outage will not be fixed until late summer, Quintillion president says

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Quintillion’s president now says a “prolonged” internet outage impacting North Slope and Northwest Alaska communities, first discovered early Saturday morning, will not be able to be fixed until late this summer.

In a statement Mac McHale said winter conditions, including sea ice and darkness, have made it impossible to pinpoint the exact location and damage a sub-sea fiber optic cable line sustained.

Until summer, McHale said, weather conditions would prevent a vessel’s crew from being able to respond and fix the outage.

In the meantime, McHale said Quintillion has been working with other internet providers and community leaders on a short term solution.

The statement did not go into greater detail to define what that short term solution may be.

As far as a long term solution, McHale focused much of his statement on saying significant federal government support is needed -- including from the incoming Trump administration -- to speed up the permitting process to either build a land bridge or terrestrial route from Utqiagvik to Deadhorse.

McHale said the company had already spent millions of dollars on cable and hardware, currently being housed in Fairbanks.

“Working closely with our community partners and the Alaska Congressional Delegation, Quintillion will continue to press for urgent support from FEMA and pursue the necessary Bureau of Land Management permits needed for construction of this new terrestrial route,” McHale said. “The time for federal agencies to act is now.”

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