Subsea Cable Damage Causes Widespread Disruption
The root cause of the outage is damage to a subsea cable system connecting Juneau to the wider network. ACS, a major telecommunications provider in the region, confirmed the damage in an email on Friday afternoon. A repair ship is en route to fix the cable, but there’s currently no estimated time for service restoration. This incident echoes a similar outage in Sitka last fall, where a broken subsea fiber optic cable left the community without internet for over two weeks. ACS is actively exploring alternative solutions to restore connectivity while the cable is being repaired. “This is our top priority and we deeply apologize for the inconvenience,” stated Heather Marron, an ACS media contact. “We know how important staying connected is and we will not rest until this is fixed.”
A raven perched on a satellite dish, symbolizing the communication disruption caused by the cell service outage in Juneau.
City Services, Schools, and State Offices Affected
The cell service outage has significantly impacted various sectors in Juneau. City phone lines are down, though essential services remain operational. Deputy City Manager Robert Barr described the impact on city functions as “significant but not debilitating” and encouraged residents to contact city officials via email instead of phone. The Juneau School District continues to hold classes, adapting to the lack of internet access. Superintendent Frank Hauser confirmed that schools are utilizing copper phone lines for essential communication. “Teachers are still teaching, students are still learning,” Hauser said. “It’s just kind of going back to the books and the manipulatives in the class.”
Emergency Services and State Government Impacted
The outage also affected emergency services and state government operations. The Juneau Police Department reported that its administrative phone lines were down, though 911 calls remained functional. Capital City Fire/Rescue cautioned that some cell phones might not be able to connect to 911 and recommended using Wi-Fi for emergency calls. State employees in Juneau and other parts of Alaska experienced disruptions due to the outage. The alaska.gov website was also inaccessible, limiting access to numerous state resources. While legislative business at the Alaska State Capitol continued as scheduled, the outage undoubtedly posed challenges.
Residents Await Service Restoration
As the repair ship makes its way to the damaged subsea cable, Juneau residents and businesses grapple with the ongoing cell service outage. The lack of reliable communication underscores the critical role of telecommunications infrastructure in modern society. While alternative solutions are being explored, the community awaits the full restoration of service and a return to normalcy.
