FLAG Telecom, a global network services provider and independent carriers' carrier, announced that its FLAG Atlantic-1 (FA-1) cable has entered service and is now carrying commercial traffic.
FA-1 is a multi-terabit, transatlantic loop system that offers direct connectivity between New York, London, and Paris. FLAG Telecom offers connections to other cities in the United States and Europe and to countries in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions via the FLAG Telecom network.
FA-1 is a six-fiber-pair, dual cable system offering 4.8 Tbits/sec of total capacity (2 x 2.4 Tbits/sec). Solely owned and managed by FLAG Telecom, products offered over the system include fiber pairs, optical wavelengths (10 Gbits/sec), SDH services (STM-x), and managed services. The final splice of the South cable is currently underway and the RFS date for the full loop system is expected to be in the third quarter of this year.
Andrés Bande, chairman and CEO of FLAG Telecom, notes, "FA-1's entrance into service is the latest step in FLAG Telecom's strategy of developing a global, city-to-city, IP-centric network leveraged by a growing range of value-added services. FA-1 allows us to meet the level and speed of service demanded by today's marketplace across this high traffic route, and to provide our customers a genuine gateway to global connectivity."
In addition to FA-1, FLAG Telecom's network includes the following systems that are in operation or under development: FLAG Europe-Asia, which links the UK directly to Japan via 16 landing points in 13 countries; FLAG North Asian Loop, which will link Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Taipei; FLAG Pacific-1, which will link Japan to the West Coast of the United States; and FLAG Europe, a terrestrial network provided through an alliance with Verizon that will cover the major European business centers.
For further information, visit www.flagtelecom.com.