Seaborn Networks has signed a turnkey contract with Alcatel- Lucent to build Seabras-1, a new 10,700 km submarine cable system that will create a direct route between New York and Sao Paulo in Brazil, with a branch to Fortaleza, Brazil.
Seaborn Networks and Alcatel-Lucent have already commenced the permit acquisition and marine survey work for the project.
The 100 Gigabit per second (100G) Seabras-1 system will deliver new capacity on the primary route for the majority of Internet, data and voice traffic between South America and the rest of the world. In addition, this new system will support a wide variety of consumer and business broadband services between two of the world’s most connected societies.
By providing low-latency communication via a 10,400 km segment directly connecting Sao Paulo and New York, and route diversity via a 350 km branch to Fortaleza, Seabras-1 will also enhance traffic protection in the region.
“Our management team has a long history of working with Alcatel-Lucent on other submarine cable projects, and we believe Alcatel-Lucent’s industry-leading submarine technology is an invaluable tool to offer added-value and reliable services to our customers,” said Larry Schwartz, Seaborn Networks’ Chief Executive Officer.
“Seabras-1 will be the first direct route between New York and Sao Paulo and also the longest 100G transoceanic link to date. Once deployed, it will contribute with other ongoing initiatives to enhance transcontinental connectivity, for the benefit of the global consumer and business community,” said Philippe Dumont, President of Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks.
The Alcatel-Lucent solution to be deployed for this project includes an integrated 100G wet plant of cable and high bandwidth repeaters, power feed equipment, and its 1620 Light Manager (LM) submarine line terminal equipped with advanced coherent technology and offering unique flexibility to increase direct connectivity between countries.
Designed to accommodate 100G wavelengths, the Alcatel-Lucent 1620 LM enables seamless capacity upgrade on flexible grid for channel spacing without traffic interruption. As part of the turnkey contract, Alcatel-Lucent will also be responsible for project management, system design, installation and system commissioning.
[mappress] Press Release, October 09, 2012