Alaskan telecoms cooperative Copper Valley Telecom is planning to develop a new domestic subsea cable.

Subsea fiber consultancy firm Pioneer Consulting this week announced it has been selected by Copper Valley Telephone Cooperative Inc. (CVTC) to provide project management and permitting for the Oceanic Tatitlek Telecommunications Enhancement Route (OTTER) project.

Pioneer said the 50km, repeaterless system will be the first subsea cable to land in Tatitlek from Valdez, improving connectivity for the communities of Tatitlek and Ellamar. The system is due to be ready for service in late 2027.

“Pioneer Consulting is the lead on all development activities for this project. Our primary job responsibilities include design, procurement, and project management of the marine route surveys, cable supply, and installation services,” said Bruce Pudney, director of client solutions at Pioneer Consulting.

CVTC has served the Valdez and Copper River Basin areas for more than 60 years, providing landline, Internet, wireless, and voice services across its fiber and microwave network. The telecoms firm will own and operate the OTTER cable.

“Pioneer Consulting has supported CVTC since 2024, providing technical and commercial advisory services, including a desktop study, during early development and feasibility that informed our USDA ReConnect application,” said Joshua Beug, CEO at CVTC. “Given Pioneer Consulting’s deep expertise in developing and deploying disaggregated projects, it was a natural choice for us to retain them for the implementation phase of OTTER. Having Pioneer Consulting as part of our team is a true asset to help bring the project to fruition.”

Valdez is a city on the shore of Prince William Sound in the Chugach Census Area of Alaska. With a population totaling just under 4,000 people, it is the third most populated city in Alaska's Unorganized Borough (portions of the state not part of its 19 organized boroughs and totaling nearly half the state’s land area). Tatitlek, a small community on the shore of Prince William Sound, has a population of around 90 people.

Alaska's many remote communities are linked by a host of domestic subsea cables from a number of local providers. Valdez is currently the landing point for GCI’s AU-East cable, Alaska Communications’ Northstar system, and Cordova Telecom Cooperative’s domestic FISH North system. The former two systems date back to 1999, but connect Valdez to the lower 48 states of the contiguous United States. The FISH North cable dates back to 2011 and connects Valdez to the nearby community of Cordova.