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Kodiak Kenai Cable Company Deploys Infinera for Alaskan Subsea Network Upgrade

2011-8-24 Your Fibre Optic News

Kodiak Kenai Cable Company, LLC (KKCC), a subsidiary of Old Harbor Native Corporation, has deployed Infinera's (NASDAQ: INFN) Submarine Solution for its optical network upgrade spanning approximately 1,000 km throughout the state of Alaska. KKCC chose Infinera for the ease of use, speed of deployment and cutting edge technology offered on Infinera's DTN for Submarine Line Terminating Equipment (SLTE).

KKCC operates Kodiak Kenai Fiber Link (KKFL), a submarine fiber optic telecommunications system connecting Kodiak Island and the Kenai Peninsula with Anchorage. Servicing 10% of Alaska's population, the network runs from Seward down to Narrow Cape and back up to Anchorage. KKFL provides access for broadband services to carriers, businesses, schools, and government institutions, including Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation and the nation's largest Coast Guard base on Kodiak Island. The improved telecommunications service with an Infinera network also enables KKCC to enhance economic and educational opportunities and healthcare services throughout local communities served by KKCC in Alaska.

"Operating a network in Alaska with a small team, and with the unpredictable weather, we needed a high capacity solution that is simple for us to manage," said Brian Kincaid, KKCC Chief Operating Officer. "After carefully considering all the options, we chose Infinera because we were very impressed with their Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) technology, and their systems were easy to install, configure, and manage through their advanced EMS system."

KKCC deployed Infinera's Submarine Solution, based on photonic integrated circuits, over a legacy undersea network including a repeaterless span of 377 km. The current network will be able to scale to meet KKCC's bandwidth needs today and well into the future. The Infinera Submarine Solution can be customized to provide superior reach and optical performance. In addition, it offers space savings and the economic benefits of combining a subsea and a terrestrial system in one platform.

"We were very pleased that Infinera was able to deploy this network so efficiently," Kincaid added. "The proven capacity far exceeds both our expectations and the projections that other system vendors' made across some very challenging spans."

"Infinera is pleased to support KKCC and their customers with an Infinera subsea solution that delivers the Infinera advantages of deployment speed, ease of use, and compact footprint," said Tom Fallon, Infinera CEO.

The Infinera DTN as SLTE provides a set of application-optimized features for upgrading submarine cable networks, including support for high-reliability trans-oceanic optical transmission, low-cost and low-latency full-band dispersion compensation optimized for greatly reduced size, integrated low-cost terrestrial backhaul and submarine network inter-connection, and undersea cable connectivity solutions optimized for operating over existing cable systems. Infinera Submarine Solutions have been deployed worldwide for customers for a total of more than 85,000 route-kilometers, including routes across the Atlantic, between North, Central, and South America, in the Middle East, and in the Indian Ocean.

About Infinera

Infinera specializes in Digital Optical Networking systems that are designed to continually improve the economics of optical networking by combining the speed of optics with the simplicity of digital. Infinera is unique in its use of breakthrough semiconductor technology: Large Scale Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC). Infinera's systems leverage PIC technology to provide customers with a service-ready architecture that enables faster time-to-revenue and greater profitability through network efficiency and the ability to rapidly deliver differentiated services without reengineering their optical infrastructure. For more information, please visit http://www.infinera.com/.

About Kodiak Kenai Cable Company

The Kodiak Kenai Fiber Link (KKFL) is a submarine fiber optic telecommunications system connecting Kodiak Island and the Kenai Peninsula with Anchorage. Landing points are located at Anchorage, Kenai, Homer, Kodiak and the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation's (AADC) Launch Complex at Narrow Cape and Seward. The system minimizes exposure of the Turnagain Arm communication corridor to earthquakes, landslides or terrorist acts. It also connects schools, industry and commerce to the world with real-time broadband Internet. The benefits of this cable system over existing transmission media include greater reliability, secure transmission, more capacity and high-speed access, free of delay problems. Improved telecommunication delivery enhances economic opportunities throughout Alaska.