Kokhanok, AK, United States

Kokhanok, AK: Submarine Cable Landing Point

Kokhanok is a small community located in Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. Despite its remote setting and a population of 152 as recorded in the 2020 census, Kokhanok serves as a submarine cable landing point, connecting it to the broader underwater cable infrastructure of the United States. One submarine cable lands here, linking Kokhanok to other points within the state of Alaska and the wider domestic network.

The single cable landing at Kokhanok is the TERRA SW system, which operates entirely within the United States. This makes Kokhanok a domestic landing point rather than an international gateway, with its connectivity oriented toward serving Alaskan communities and the intra-state corridor. For a community of this size in a geographically isolated region of Alaska, submarine cable infrastructure represents a significant element of the local communications network.

Cables Landing at Kokhanok, AK

TERRA SW is the submarine cable serving Kokhanok. The system reached ready-for-service (RFS) status in 2012, with its current designation noted as draft. All other endpoints on the TERRA SW cable are also located within the United States, confirming its role as a domestic intra-US system. No cable length or additional technical specifications are on record for this system.

Regional Context

Within the United States, Kokhanok hosts a single submarine cable, placing it among the more lightly served of the country's 160 landing points. By comparison, high-density landing points such as Boca Raton, FL and San Juan, PR each host eight cables, while Hermosa Beach, CA, Kapolei, HI, and Myrtle Beach, SC each host five. Nevertheless, Kokhanok ranks within the top 69% of US landing points by cable count, reflecting the relatively long tail of single-cable landing points that exist across the country, particularly in Alaska and other remote areas.

Network Role

Kokhanok functions as a single-cable terminus on the TERRA SW domestic system, providing submarine cable connectivity to a small Alaskan community that would otherwise depend entirely on terrestrial or satellite alternatives. The TERRA SW cable connects points entirely within the United States, meaning Kokhanok's role is oriented toward intra-Alaskan or intra-national data and communications transport rather than any intercontinental corridor.

In the broader US submarine cable graph, Kokhanok represents the pattern of domestic submarine infrastructure serving geographically isolated communities across Alaska, where overland connectivity is limited and underwater cable routes provide a practical solution for extending network reach to small, remote populations.