Ocean Networks, Alcatel-Lucent plan SAPL Caribbean Express submarine network

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) says Ocean Networks, Inc. has tasked its Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks (ASN) subsidiary to construct an extension of the South America Pacific Link (SAPL) submarine network. The extension, which will be called SAPL Caribbean Express (SAPL CX), will connect Panama to Florida.

SAPL CX will add approximately 3,000 km to the 14,200 km of the main SAPL undersea cable network, which will link Hawaii to South America. The extension will land in northern Florida to provide connectivity to the Network Access Point (NAP) of the Americas in Miami, as well as connecting Oahu in Hawaii, Balboa in Panama, and Santiago in Chile.

The submarine cable system is designed to accommodate future branching units to Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, northern Chile, and "The Big Island" of Hawaii.

SAPL CX will be built to support 100-Gbps wavelengths that will combine for a capacity of at least 10 Tbps on each of its six fiber pairs.

"The addition of SAPL CX is significant; we have listened to the requirements of our customers and have responded to meet their requests," asserted Scott J. Schwertfager, CEO of Ocean Networks. "The SAPL system will fulfill a longstanding need of the markets of the U.S., Central and South America for connectivity to the Asia Pacific region by interconnecting with existing and planned submarine cable systems in Hawaii."

SAPL is the only system in the region that offers full fiber pairs from Hawaii, Central and South America to the NAP of the Americas, Ocean asserts. The company positions the trans-Pacific submarine network as a congestion-free alternative to existing North American West Coast routes. It is expected to be ready for service by the fourth quarter of 2017.

"Extending SAPL to the United States will boost access to the worldwide infrastructure, opening up traffic diversity to increase access and service reliability as demand from consumers and businesses alike grows rapidly," said Philippe Dumont, president of Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks.

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