Friday Bytes: EllaLink, Comcast, Turk Telekom

A few more items worth noting before you head off for the first weekend of August, one undersea, one metro, and one job-related:

Ellalink got some important backing this week for its proposed direct submarine link between Europe and Latin America. The R&E networks GÉANT and RedCLARA have signed a 25 year IRU contract for spectrum on the cable system. The two have a 10G connection currently, and the new cable will cut latency by some 60%. If all goes as planned, Ellalink will come online a bit over two years from now.

Comcast is adding more reach to its fiber network in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. The cable giant’s Business division announced a $5M investment into the company’s infrastructure there, bringing it within reach of more than 2,000 additional businesses. In particular, they are adding underground and aerial fiber in and between Harbor Place, Green Mount Cemetery, Enoch Pratt Library, the University of Maryland Medical Center and Seton Hill area, the Seagirt Marine Terminal harbor-front area and Canton neighborhood, the Baltimore Zoo, and Sinai hospital.

And Türk Telekom International has brought in a familiar face to help it gain traction with the webscale community, among other things. Mehmet Akcin, who has helped drive the network groups at Yahoo and Microsoft over the last decade, has been appointed as advisor to CEO Mehmet C. Toros. It’s the second bit of interesting job news for Akcin this summer, as he also joined the board of advisors for Seaborn Networks in July. Türk Telekom’s network stretches from the markets of the Middle East to the major destinations in Europe, with substantial fiber depth in eastern Europe as well as (obviously) Turkey.

 

If you haven't already, please take our Reader Survey! Just 3 questions to help us better understand who is reading Telecom Ramblings so we can serve you better!

Categories: Cable · Fiber Networks · Jobs · Metro fiber · Undersea cables