TE SubCom has completed the third upgrade of the South-East Asia Japan Cable (SJC) by deploying C100U+ technology to add 100Gbps coherent transmission capabilities to the system. The upgrade increased the capacity by 6.3Tbps. The 8,986km SJC System – which links Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the Philippines, and includes the option to connect with Thailand – began service in June 2013 and is owned by a consortium comprising Brunei International Gateway (BIG), China Mobile International (CMI), China Telecom, China Telecom Global (CTG), Donghwa Telecom (DHT, a subsidiary of Chunghwa Telecom), Globe Telecom, Google, KDDI Corporation, Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel), PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia International (Telin, a subsidiary of Telekomunikasi Indonesia) and Thai state-owned telco TOT. TeleGeography notes that TE SubCom previously added additional capacity to the SJC system in May 2014 (6.5Tbps) and May 2015 (3.6Tbps).
The governments of Chad and Niger have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the deployment of the Trans-Saharan Backbone network to boost broadband connections between the north, west and central African regions of the continent, Agence Ecofin reports. When completed, the network will link Algeria, Niger, Nigeria and Chad (stage one), while Mali will be linked in the second phase of the programme. The proposed fibre-optic cable will follow the route of the Algeria-Nigeria-Chad Trans-Saharan Road (Route Trans Saharienne, RTS), with 1,007km of fibre-optic cabling in Niger – from Assamaka (Algeria) to Tinkim (Nigeria) via the Arlit-Agadez-Tanout-Zinder route, with a branch from Zinder to N’Guigmi (Niger) via Goure-Maine-Oiffa – and 503km in Chad (Daboua-Rigrig-Mao-N’gouri-Massakory-Massaguet). The project is part of a technical and financial partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the EU.
BT Group has laid a 1,000m submarine cable link across Lake Windermere, thus joining the remote community of Far Sawrey with the Connecting Cumbria fibre network. The Connecting Cumbria project – a partnership between Cumbria County Council and BT – has enabled more than 550 fibre broadband cabinets across the county to date.
US network service provider Level 3 Communications has added a pair of 100G sub-loops to its fibre-optic network in Westchester County, New York. The new fibre network extensions include a sub-loop from Tarrytown to Hawthorne and a sub-loop through Purchase. The additions also offer an entryway to Level 3’s global fibre-optic network, which extends 200,000 miles with connections in more than 60 countries and 500 cities.
Elsewhere in the US, Windstream has announced a major expansion of its advanced metropolitan fibre network in the Atlanta area. The expansion covers the Downtown, Midtown, Buckhead/Lenox Square, Alpharetta and Roswell areas of the city. Going forward, Windstream seeks to expand its metro fibre networks in Charlotte, Nashville, Richmond, Minneapolis, Chicago, Philadelphia and Cleveland.
Paris-based internet exchange point (IXP) France-IX has signed a partnership agreement with BICS, the wholesale division of Belgian operator Proximus. France-IX’s clients based in Paris or Marseille can now use convergence hubs to connect through BICS and respond to growing demand for connections to the Middle East and Africa. France-IX offers peering services to over 320 networks in Paris and Marseille while BICS has 112 data centre PoPs worldwide, with full access to 20 submarine cables covering all key routes around the world.
Data centre operator Equinix has opened its AUD130 million (USD98 million) SY4 co-location facility in Sydney. The latest facility brings additional 1,500 data centre cabinets to Equinix’s cluster of sites around the suburb of Alexandria, near Sydney Airport. The site has scope for a second-phase expansion to 3,000 cabinets.
Lastly, Melbourne-based telecoms provider Telstra is partnering with NetNumber to deploy its NetNumber CRE application – part of the TITAN platform – which will be integrated into Telstra’s architecture to help reduce latency across its global subsea cable network.
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