America Movil promises world’s longest 100-Gbps undersea cable system

América Móvil, S.A.B. de C.V. and its technology supplier, Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU), say they are making good progress on construction of the América Móvil 1 (AMX-1 System) undersea fiber-optic cable system. The submarine fiber-optic network, which will land in the United States, Central America, and Brazil, will run 17,500 km and support wavelength data rates of 100 Gbps – making it the longest 100-Gbps undersea system in the world.

The 100-Gbps technology will enable a total system capacity of more than 50 Tbps. “100G technology is playing a fundamental role in scalability as operators are seeking to manage their bandwidth expansion to meet increasing demands for content-rich services and to address new applications such as data center interconnection needs,” said Philippe Dumont, president of Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks.

The two parties say they have completed cable route and landing surveys; the next step is manufacturing the cable and repeaters, a process that Alcatel-Lucent says is moving forward. The AMX-1 System will be based on Alcatel-Lucent OALC-4 cable optimized with coherent submarine fiber, repeaters, branching units, and the 1620 Light Manager submarine line terminal. The systems house says it will not only provide the equipment and construct the network, but provide ongoing maintenance via its Atlantic Private Maintenance Agreement. The agreement includes a cable awareness program designed to ensure collaboration of maritime and port authorities, fishing bodies, and other parties who otherwise might damage the cable.

The network, scheduled to be in service late this year, will have 11 landing points in seven countries. They include Miami and Jacksonville (United States), Barranquilla and Cartagena (Colombia), Fortaleza, Salvador & Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic), Cancun (Mexico), San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Puerto Barrios (Guatemala).

For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.