There’s another transtatlantic cable system in the works, according to a rather quiet launch announcement over the weekend. The effort is aimed not at connecting a mere two continents, but four, and will feature 100G technology from the start. I’m still trying to figure out just what they’re aiming for, check out this proposed network map:
So the WASACE cable system would include a North Atlantic leg connecting France and the Eastern Seaboard of the US, a Latin American leg starting in Miami and running down to Fortaleza in Brazil, a South Atlantic leg crossing to West Africa, and then a leg down the West African coast toward South Africa. The main idea I think would be to open some new connectivity options to the southern hemisphere, such as Africa-USA and Africa-South America.
That Brazil-Africa link possibility has shown up twice now, we saw it last year in talk of a giant system financed by China whose status I haven’t heard anything new on. Of course, in the North Atlantic we haven’t seen a new cable go live in some time, but Hibernia’s Project Express is well underway so the drought will end soon. There’s also the Emerald Atlantis project we heard about in July, but which I haven’t heard more from yet either.
The WASACE group is headed by CEO Ramon Gil-Roldan, and the David Ross Group will be handling project development. It’s hard to tell what stage this cable system is at, though I’m sure it’s quite early.
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Categories: Undersea cables
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rob, i run an led business in vermont, but got wind of you through your articles. im curious, on a unrelated subject, what your thoughts are about ftwr. i did read your articles suggesting possible BK or selling pieces, but was hoping you might have a few more thoughts you could share. saultie1@yahoo.com is my email. forever grateful if you find the time to help! -Brooke