Tuesday Roundup: Southern Cross, Three, EE, BAI, PLCN

Two bits of subsea news, and one subterranean:

Southern Cross is closing in on completion of its NEXT cable system. Last week the cable was landed in the South Pacific nation of Kiribati, and today the cable came ashore at Coogee Beach in New South Wales, Australia. All that’s left is a branch landing in Fiji and the final splice work before RFS in Q2 of 2020. When complete, SX NEXT will put 72Tbps of capacity in place between the US, Australia/New Zealand, and multiple destinations along the way.

Three and EE have signed onto BAI Communications plans under the streets of London. BAI is building out infrastructure across the London Tube network since being awarded a concession in June 2021 to provide 4G and 5G-ready connectivity underground, and Three and EE have agreed to a deal to access that infrastructure. They are currently bringing the stations of Oxford Circus, Tottenham Court Road, Bank, Euston and Camden Town up for the end of 2022, with all stations and tunnels targeted by 2024.

And apparently the subsea cable PLCN’s leg to China might get approved after all. The project of Google and Meta/Facebook connects the US west coast to the Philippines, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, but the last leg has been caught up in national security worries. But the US government has now recommended approval despite those security worries, with the use of advanced encryption and annual risk assessments.  

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Categories: Fiber Networks · Government Regulations · Undersea cables · Wireless