China Mobile International Limited (CMI), China Unicom Global (CUG) , Converge Information and Communications Technology Solutions, Inc. (Converge) and PPTEL SEA H2X Sdn. Bhd (PPTEL SEA-H2X), reaffirmed their partnership to construct and operate the South East Asia Hainan - Hong Kong Express Cable System (SEA-H2X), a new submarine cable system that will connect Hong Kong SAR China, Hainan China, Philippines, Thailand, East Malaysia and Singapore, with options to extend to Vietnam, Cambodia, West Malaysia and Indonesia. The parties to the SEA-H2X Project have appointed HMN Technologies Co., Limited (HMN Tech) to build the cable in a fully funded project which will greatly enhance intra-Asian connectivity. With the Construction and Maintenance Agreement (C&MA) and Supply Contract with HMN Tech being effective on March 4, 2022, the parties also announced that the Supply Contract has come into force.
Wholesale and Capacity
Telstra Boosts Connectivity Between Australia and the US with Southern Cross NEXT Subsea Cable
Telstra launched the first direct subsea cable to connect Australia with the U.S. will be ready for service in July 2022. The Southern Cross NEXT cable (SX NEXT) will enhance connectivity between Australia and New Zealand and the U.S., with branching units to Fiji, Kiribati, and Tokelau. Telstra is a 25 percent shareholder of the Southern Cross Cables Network (SCCN), the owner of SX NEXT.
$10 Billion Worth of New Cables Expected to Enter Service Between 2022 and 2024
TeleGeography has published its new Submarine Cable Map and Africa Telecom Map for 2022, both sponsored by Telecom Egypt.
Arelion Completes the New US East to West Coast Fiber Route
Arelion announced general availability of its latest US East-to-West coast network project. The addition of the new Southwest route provides long-haul connectivity at multi-terabit scale for Dallas and El Paso to the West coast through Phoenix, Arizona; San Diego, California; and Los Angeles, California. This expansion completes the high-capacity system across the United States connecting previously announced deployments eastward from Dallas, Texas, via Nashville, Tennessee to Ashburn, Virginia.
Google Lands Equiano Submarine Cable
Google and cable landing partner WIOCC announced the landing in Lagos, Nigeria, of the Equiano subsea cable, which will become a critical element in meeting Nigeria’s current and future international connectivity demands.
EXA Infrastructure to Provide Connectivity for London Stock Exchange Data Center
EXA Infrastructure will provide low latency and ultra-low latency network connectivity to the London Stock Exchange Group’s (LSEG) new colocation data center.
Topaz is the First Submarine Fiber Cable to Connect Canada and Asia
Once complete, Topaz will run from Vancouver to the small town of Port Alberni on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, and across the Pacific Ocean to the prefectures of Mie and Ibaraki in Japan. The cable will be ready for service in 2023, not only delivering low-latency access to Search, Gmail and YouTube, Google Cloud, and other Google services, but also increasing capacity to the region for a variety of network operators in both Japan and Canada.
New 300-Mile Diverse Fiber Between Ashburn, VA and New York Metro
There is a new regional long-haul route connecting the world’s data center epicenter of Ashburn, VA, to the New York Metro area. This 300-mile route is geographically diverse from existing Lightpath routes between New York and Ashburn, VA, offering customers distinct paths to and from the regions.
NTT Plans Accelerated Data Center Development
NTT and Macquarie Asset Management entered into a strategic real estate partnership covering NTT’s wholesale facilities across Europe and North America.
PCCW Global Doubles Capacity on PEACE Cable System
PCCW Global has completed a significant deployment on the PEACE cable system between Marseille, Cyprus and Abu Talat. Utilizing Infinera’s ICE technology, PCCW Global now offers network operators the ability to significantly increase capacity per fiber pair on these critical Middle East and Mediterranean fiber routes.