New World Network, the majority owner in the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS), a submarine broadband fiber-optic cable system interconnecting the Americas and the Caribbean, received permission from the government of Mexico to land ARCOS in Mexico, one of the largest telecommunications markets in Latin America. By providing capacity to the southern part of Mexico via Cancun, ARCOS directly opens up this underserved region, as well as further serves the existing Mexican market.
Following receipt of permission from the Mexican authorities, TyCom Ltd., a global submarine cable provider, installed the ARCOS shore-end cable segment in Cancun, Mexico, on April 24, 2001. With the marine installation of the ARCOS's Phase I from the United States to Puerto Rico now complete, this will allow New World Network to continue on schedule toward completion of the entire 8,600-km ARCOS ring by third quarter of 2001.
New World Network's hybrid ownership structure has created unique strategic alliances with a consortium of carriers, including Avantel in Mexico -- the ARCOS landing party -- who will ensure backhaul and interconnection to local networks. Avantel is completing the extension of their network to Cancun, guaranteeing backhaul bandwidth to New World Network customers on the ARCOS system, as in the other 14 countries of the cable system.
According to market analysts at IDC, a market research firm, the build-out of fiber-optic networks in Latin America has been driven by the growth of cellular and PC markets as well as the increase in broadband access and the continuing growth of Internet and IP-based services.
The ARCOS network is 8,600-km undersea fiber-optic cable ring and consists of 22 unrepeatered and only 2 repeatered sections. The design of this principally unrepeatered cable network allows the new technology and further expansion to be incorporated throughout the ring in a matter of weeks and it effectively obviates the need for further cable builds, thereby allows New World Network to continuously compete as a low cost provider.
The ARCOS cable network links the U.S. market with 14 additional jurisdictions throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. ARCOS is an advanced communications network connecting the U.S., Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Curacao, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and Mexico.
About New World Network:
New World Network is a carrier's carrier that provides advanced, high-speed bandwidth capacity to telecommunications companies and Internet Service Providers. For more information, visit www.nwncable.com.