05/19/2026
Here is a helpful visual that shows what our Village Connect Project is doing with microwave point-to-point communication. This spring, we have been building near Kivalina, Noatak and Kotzebue.
We are building 19 new towers across the region that allows for 28 new microwave paths. This will bring you faster connection at a lower cost!
Microwave point-to-point communication is a wireless technology used to transfer data between two fixed locations using highly directional microwave antennas. In this setup, Site A and Site B are connected through a microwave (MW) link operating at 6 GHz with a data rate of 1 Gbps over a distance of about 50 km. Each site has an Outdoor Unit (ODU) mounted near the antenna tower and an Indoor Unit (IDU) installed inside the building. The ODU handles radio frequency transmission and reception, while the IDU manages data processing and network interfacing. RF cables such as LMR-400 connect the antenna system to the communication equipment. Routers and LAN networks allow local devices to access the wireless link for internet or private network communication. Grounding is important to protect the equipment from lightning and electrical surges. Microwave links are widely used by telecom companies, internet service providers, industries, and remote facilities because they provide high-speed communication without laying long fiber-optic cables. Proper antenna alignment is critical because microwave signals travel in a narrow line-of-sight path between the two towers.
