DeployCom to install the First Ever Cable Horizontally in a River in North America

May 2024

DeployCom is installing a fiber optic cable in the Iconic Yukon River in Alaska. The project is the first ever
network to be installed horizontally in a freshwater river in North America. It is only the second river
deployment ever attempted on a global basis. One of the many unique characteristics of the project is that the
Yukon River is an artic river, making ice and weather-related issues particularly challenging in relation to the
installation of the cable.

The Yukon River Project is divided into two corridors: a terrestrial corridor which extends from Fairbanks to the E.L. Patton Bridge crossing over the Yukon River; and a river corridor that begins at the point the fiber optic cable enters the Yukon River and extends upstream to Fort Yukon and downstream to Tanana.

The Project will be completed in two phases over 2024 and 2025. The majority of the cable will be installed
during 2024 and includes a portion of the terrestrial corridor, the river corridor between Beaver and Tanana.
The cable between Fort Yukon and Beaver, and remainder of the terrestrial corridor will be completed during
the summer of 2025.

The terrestrial portion of the Project starts in Fairbanks and continues north along the Dalton Highway to the
crossing over the Yukon River, terminating on the north side of the E.L Patton Bridge (132 miles). The Dalton
Highway is the iconic “ice road,” featured on the television series “Ice Road Truckers.” Installation of the cable utilizes a variety of methods including vibratory plowing and trenching to directly bury the cable below the surface. Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) will be used, as necessary, at creeks and roadway crossings.

The riverine portion of the Project starts where the cable enters the Yukon River and extends upstream to Fort Yukon and downstream to Tanana (316 miles). All in-water work will be completed from a self-propelled, self-contained cable-lay barge supported by smaller support skiffs. A scratch plow will be used between Beaver and Tanana and a jet plow will be used between Fort Yukon and Beaver to bury the FOC within the riverbed.