AUGUST 9, 2007 -- Hibernia Atlantic (search for Hibernia Atlantic), the only diverse TransAtlantic submarine transport cable provider, today announced its plan to construct a brand new undersea fiber-optic cable system connecting Iceland to its northern Atlantic submarine cable system.
Hibernia Atlantic says it will deploy a branching unit off its existing northern cable, giving Iceland direct connectivity to North America, Ireland, London, Amsterdam, and the rest of continental Europe. The new cable link will provide connectivity to Iceland at 192 X 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10-GbE) wavelengths, the only one of its kind in the region, say Hibernia Atlantic representatives. This allows for communications traffic from Iceland to go either East or West, with direct access to 42 cities and 52 network points of presence (PoPs) and the ability to steer traffic around major metropolitan areas and bypass traditional backhaul routes.
Hibernia Atlantic projects the system will become fully operational for customer traffic in the fall of 2008.
"Many server-intensive customers who require reliable and inexpensive power for collocation services are looking to Iceland as their most cost-effective solution," explains Ken Peterson, chairman of Hibernia Atlantic's Board of Directors and the chairman of Columbia Ventures Corp., Hibernia's parent company. "Iceland has an abundance of inexpensive geothermal and hydroelectric power that makes it attractive for many industries. The country is also committed to one day becoming entirely reliable on renewable energy sources, thereby making it an attractive and fertile place to do business," Peterson notes.
"Over a hundred years ago, Iceland marked a milestone in the history of its telecommunications," adds Bjarni K. Thorvardarson, Hibernia Atlantic's CEO and Icelandic native. "A submarine telegraph cable was laid from Scotland through the Faroe Islands to the East Coast of Iceland. That same year, a telegraph and telephone line was laid to the capital, Reykjavik, thereby ending the country's isolation," he says. "Today, more than a century later, Hibernia is proud to announce its plans to build an upgraded submarine cable providing 10-Gigabit Ethernet connectivity to Iceland, a major improvement on current capacity, and the addition of yet another key location in the growing list of Hibernia Atlantic operations and Points of Presence. We are pleased and excited to add this segment to our already healthy cable system."
The new cable provides Iceland much needed diversity from its existing infrastructure. Currently, the only cable with available capacity is Farice, a submarine cable system connecting Iceland and the Faroe Islands to Scotland. Upon completion of the new Hibernia Atlantic cable, which will offer 192 X 10-Gbit/sec wavelengths, Hibernia Atlantic says it will supply Iceland with a major upgrade in capacity, efficiency, reliability, and first-to-market Ethernet services. Hibernia Atlantic also will serve as another redundant option to connect to North America, Ireland, and other major European cities.
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