NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com) announced that it joined numerous other telecommunications carriers in Asia in signing a contract for the construction and maintenance of the Asia Pacific Gateway (APG), an undersea cable network that is scheduled to launch by June 2014 with a total design capacity of 54.8 terabit-per-second (Tbps). The contract will become effective by March 2012.
The network initially will use the latest 40 gigabit-per-second (Gbps) wavelength technology and is designed to accommodate 100 Gbps wavelength technology for increasing efficiency and high-capacity.
The APG will connect most countries and regions of East Asia via landing sites in Korea, Japan, Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and others. Participating carriers besides NTT Com include Chunghwa Telecom (Taiwan), KT Corporation (Korea) and many others. The cabling route was chosen carefully to avoid damage from natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons.
Demands for international broadband communications are increasing among both enterprises and consumers in the Asian region, reflecting the ongoing expansion of markets and growing use of cloud services. Demands are also increasing for redundant networks that can help enterprises ensure business continuity by minimizing the effects on their communications due to network damage.
NTT Com continues to add new cable networks to provide customers in Asia with increasing capacity as well as greater redundancy for strengthened reliability. The company has participated in the construction of an undersea cable network, named the Asia Submarine-cable Express (ASE), to enhance its provision of global network services and cloud services in the Asian region. The cable will be launched by June 2012 with 40 Gbps wavelength technology and the capability to incorporate 100 Gbps technology in the future.
About NTT Communications Corporation
NTT Communications provides a broad range of global networks, management solutions and IT services to customers worldwide. The company is renowned for reliable, high-quality security, hosting, voice, data and IP services, as well as expertise in managed networks and leadership in IPv6 transit technology. NTT Communications’ extensive infrastructure includes Arcstar™ Global IP-VPN and Global e-VLAN, as well as a Tier-1 IP backbone reaching more than 150 countries in partnership with major Internet service providers, and secure data centers in Asia, North America and Europe.
[mappress] Subsea World News Staff , December 21, 2011; Image: NEC Corporation