The Alaska Communication System (ACS), also known as the Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System (WAMCATS), was a system of cables and telegraph lines authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1900 and constructed by the U.S. Army Signal Corps. The communications lines were to serve both military and civilian needs in the territory of Alaska. By 1904, ACS comprised some 2,100 miles (3,400 km) of undersea cable, over 1,400 miles (2,300 km) of land lines, and a wireless segment across at least 107 miles (172 km).[1] On May 15, 1936 WAMCATS was renamed the U.S. Army Alaska Communication System.[2] The Alaska Communication System remained under the control of the Army Signal Corps until 1962 when it was taken over by the U.S. Air Force. The ACS handled the radioteletype, radio telephone, 500 kHz ship-to-shore frequencies, collected communications intelligence, and other services for more than half a century in Alaska.[3]
The Army Signal Corps (which develops, tests, provides, and manages communications and information systems support for the command and control of all the U.S. armed forces) connected military posts with each other and with the rest of the continental United States. This system of thousands of miles of suspended landlines and submarine cable included the first successful long-distance radio operation in the world. The telegraph was also the first major contribution to Alaskan infrastructure provided by the U.S. federal government, marking the beginning of the government's central role in the development of Alaska.[4]
At the start of the 20th century, when the United States was committing American troops to military engagements around the world, the Signal Corps in Alaska worked to make sure military communications could flow.[4] An important message, such as General MacArthur's World War II demand for the surrender of the Japanese, was received, automatically recorded as printed text and parallel punched holes on paper tape, and could then be relayed on to other stations.[5]
The ACS also provided a vital lifeline – sometimes quite literally – to the many remote and almost inaccessible communities across Alaska: it enabled the icebound city of Nome to alert the outside world about a diphtheria outbreak which led to the successful 1925 serum run to Nome.