Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks today announced its contract with Amper to roll out submarine cable system with more than 9,700 km across the Pacific.
As per the contract announced on Tuesday, Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks will deploy its submarine optical technology based on the 1620 SOFTNODE and OADM branching units to maximize capacity and network flexibility.
System design, installation and commissioning, marine operations like cable laying and maintenance will be part of the deal. Completion of the submarine cable project called Moana Cable is scheduled in 2018.
Amper, a subsidiary Bluesky Pacific Group, will be making the investment to link New Zealand and Hawaii to address increased traffic requirements for mobile broadband and fiber access to homes in the region. The size of the submarine cable deal was not disclosed.
“Our investment in Moana Cable is in alignment with Amper’s strategy of growing our footprint in the Pacific and supporting Bluesky’s vision of connecting our pacific communities,” said Jaime Espinosa de los Monteros, CEO of Amper.
The company said Moana Cable system will have two main segments: the first segment, based on two fiber pairs, will connect New Zealand to Hawaii over 8,000 km, serving Samoa and American Samoa and enhancing route diversity for New Zealand; the second segment, based on one fiber pair, will link the Cook Islands to the Samoa hub over 1,700 km.
The Moana Cable will be the first long-haul submarine cable in the Pacific islands region relying on the latest 200 Gbit/s transmission technology, with ultimate capacity between Hawaii and New Zealand of 20 Terabits-per-second (Tb/s).
“The need for broadband is driving the new projects in the Asia-Pacific region and contributing to the upward trend the submarine cables industry is experiencing,” said Philippe Dumont, president of Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks.
