Wholesale submarine bandwidth provider GlobeNet, a wholly owned subsidiary of Oi, and TE SubCom, a TE Connectivity Ltd. company, say they have launched replacement of Segment 5 of GlobeNet’s subsea cable system between Bermunda and the U.S. The new subsea cable segment will boost existing capacity by 30X between Bermuda and the U.S. by the first quarter of 2013.
The new segment will run approximately 1,350 km in length and is designed to support 150 wavelengths per fiber-pair at 100 Gbps per wavelength. The upgrade will give the two-fiber-pair system a total design capacity of 30 Tbps. This will be the largest cross-sectional capacity per fiber pair of any system built or contracted to date, the parties assert.
GlobeNet provides International capacity between North and South America over a dual ring-protected submarine cable system serving Bermuda, Brazil, Colombia, the U.S., and Venezuela.
Originally installed by TE SubCom in 1997, GlobeNet’s Segment 5 lands in St. David’s, Bermuda, and Tuckerton, NJ. The replacement project includes the supply of new TE SubCom Submarine Line Terminating Equipment (SLTE). To prepare for the upgrade, a marine route survey was completed in November 2011.
“The demand for Internet and video services is growing at an exponential rate, especially in emerging markets such as South America,” stated Erick W. Contag , COO of GlobeNet. “To ensure the highest level of network performance for our carrier customers, GlobeNet continuously invests in network upgrades, such as this Segment 5 replacement. GlobeNet’s lowest latency, reliable, and highly secure network is designed to support bandwidth-intensive services including streaming media, high definition (HD) video, online gaming and social media applications. Each segment of the system is critical and we look forward to working with TE SubCom to ensure Segment 5 is fully optimized for our customers’ growing needs.”
GlobeNet’s submarine cable network spans 22,000 km and connects Bermuda, Brazil, the United States and Venezuela, with further extensions to Colombia.
Said David Robles, sales director, Americas Region, TE SubCom, “Upon successful completion, the Segment 5 Replacement will serve as a needed enhancement for the entire GlobeNet system and will support growing capacity demands between North and South America well into the future.”