A Question for Global Crossing

In my series of questions for carriers during earnings season, I now turn to Global Crossing.  As hard as it is to do with this company, we must set aside questions about history here.  The idea is to draw out information we can use to understand the present and get hints of the future.

Global Crossing’s main AC-2 cable has a maximum capacity of 320Gbps in its current configuration.  The owner of the other half of this cable – Level 3’s Yellow – has already had to go out and buy capacity from other systems to keep up.  When AC-2 is full, how do you intend to fulfill your transatlantic requirements?  Will you upgrade AC-2, invest in a new cable, or will you need to purchase capacity from other cables, and how will this affect your margins?

In its construction, Global Crossing spent much of its effort undersea, preferring to lease on land.  The Atlantic connection is their oldest and has been surpassed in capability by much larger cables:  e.g. Apollo, Flag (Reliance), Hibernia Atlantic, and Tyco (Tata).  Where they goes from here is relevant, do they apply more resources undersea or do they apply them on land, say in metro reach in the USA?  They have been doing so in Latin America lately for their MAC and SAC cables, what will happen in the Atlantic?

Actually I was torn between this one and a question about their lack of metro depth in the USA and what they might do about it.  I chose the transatlantic question simply because I’m more likely to get an answer, since the metro depth issue is probably best addressed via M&A and they will dodge the question.

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