TL;DR

  • New infrastructure: Toptana Technologies is breaking ground on a new cable landing station on Washington’s Pacific coast.
  • First cable: The facility will serve as the Washington landing point for AWS-owned Sta’O’Nuk, the first subsea cable system planned for the site.
  • Built for growth: The landing station is designed to accommodate up to four subsea cable systems, creating room for future connectivity.
  • Indigenous-led development: The project represents an investment by the Quinault Indian Nation in long-term economic opportunity and Washington’s role in the global digital economy.

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For more than two decades, Washington State has gone without a new cable landing station. That changes this September, when construction begins on a new facility on the state’s Pacific coast designed to give the region another connection to the global digital infrastructure network.

The project comes from Toptana Technologies, an Indigenous-owned telecommunications infrastructure company established by the Quinault Indian Nation. Its new cable landing station in Ocean Shores will provide a physical connection between subsea cables arriving from across the Pacific and terrestrial fiber networks carrying that traffic onward.

The first cable planned for the facility is Amazon Web Services’ Sta’O’Nuk subsea cable system. The name, which means “lightning serpent” in the Quinault language, reflects the cultural heritage of the Quinault Indian Nation, which granted AWS permission to use the name while preserving its cultural and linguistic significance.

The landing station is being designed to accommodate up to four subsea cable systems, giving Washington additional capacity and potential pathways for international connectivity as demand for cloud computing and global data traffic continues to grow.

“This groundbreaking represents an investment in the future of the Quinault Indian Nation,” said Jeff Capoeman, Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Toptana Technologies. “Through Toptana, we’re building infrastructure that creates long-term economic opportunity while strengthening Washington’s role in the global digital economy.”

That long-term perspective is also reflected in the project’s development model. Assured Communications is serving as Toptana’s strategic partner, program manager, and operations service provider, supporting the project from planning and construction through long-term operations.

“Projects like this succeed because of long-term collaboration,” said Joel Ogren, CEO, Assured Communications. “Working alongside Toptana and the Quinault Indian Nation, we’re helping deliver infrastructure that expands international connectivity while creating lasting benefits for the region.”

The timing is significant. The Pacific Northwest is home to major cloud and technology activity, but international connectivity depends on the physical infrastructure that links those digital ecosystems to networks around the world. By adding a new cable landing point, Toptana is creating another pathway between Washington and Asia-Pacific markets while establishing infrastructure that can support future cable systems.

Amazon, whose Sta’O’Nuk system will be the first to use the facility, sees the project as part of that broader connectivity picture.

“Building resilient, high-capacity connectivity requires trusted infrastructure partners and a long-term commitment to the communities where that infrastructure is developed,” said David Selby, Director of Global Network Planning and Acquisition, Amazon. “We’re pleased to partner with Toptana on the Sta’O’Nuk cable system and to see the Toptana cable landing station move toward construction.”

With the September 2 groundbreaking, a project more than two decades in the making moves from planning toward construction. For Washington, the new landing station will introduce additional subsea infrastructure to the state. For Toptana and the Quinault Indian Nation, it represents an opportunity to pair international digital connectivity with long-term economic development.

And with space for up to four cable systems, the infrastructure being built today is intended to provide a foundation for connectivity well beyond the first cable that lands there.

Additional details are available in the full announcement: www.imillerpr.com/news/toptana-technologies-announces-september-groundbreaking-for-washington-cable-landing-station