History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications
from the first submarine cable of 1850 to the worldwide fiber optic network
Cable Timeline:
2001-
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History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications |
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Cable Timeline:
2001- |
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| Click on the Route
links to see cable samples, the Company or Operator links for full descriptions,
the ship name links to see descriptions or images. Atlantic cables and their connecting systems are highlighted in green. Please note that Timeline entries within each year are not necessarily chronological, as the exact date of laying is generally not known. |
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| Year | Route | Manufacturer | Owner or Operator | Cable Ships | Notes | Bandwidth |
| 2001? | CNSFTC: Aberdeen, Scotland to OSP Forties - Everset - Ula | ? | CNSFTC (BP) | ? | OSP = Offshore Platform (Gas or Oil rig) | |
| 2001 | HIBERNIA: (Formerly 360 Atlantic) Northern: Southport, England - Halifax, Nova Scotia: Southern: Southport - Dublin, Ireland - Halifax, Nova Scotia: Halifax - Boston, USA | Tyco SSI | Hibernia Atlantic purchased the system in 2003 | Vercors - Iberus - Nordic King - Teneo - Dock Express 20 - Global Mariner - Atlantida | System 12,200 km. Commissioned in 2000 and in service April 2001. Vercors laid segment D3 3293 km | |
| 2001 | MED NAUTILUS: Catania, Italy - Chania, Crete - Athens, Greece - Istanbul, Turkey - Cyprus - Tel Aviv, Israel: Athens - Haifa: Catania - Tel Aviv | ASN 7000 km. | ? | ? | System 5648 km with a further 81 km of landline. | |
| 2001 | AC 2: Bude, England - Bellport, USA | ? | Level 3 | ? | System 6157 km. | 640 Gb/s |
| 2001 | AJC: Australia - Guam - Japan (2 landings at each) | Ocean Cable Co. | ? | Fresnel - Subaru | System 12000 km. Fresnel laid 3500 km. Subaru laid 924 km. | 40 + 40 Gb/s. (Upgradeable to 320 + 320 Gb/s) |
| 2001 | VSNL Transatlantic: (Formerly TYCO Transatlantic) Avon, USA - Brean, England: Manasquan, USA - Saunton Sands, England | ? | VSNL | ? | System 12935 km. Landings in UK and USA are linked. Renamed following the takeover of Tyco cables by VSNL. | 2.56 Tb/s |
| 2001 | TAT 14: Tuckerton - Manasquan, USA - Blaabjerg, Denmark - Norden, Germany - Katwijk, Holland - St Valery en Caux, France - Pentewen - Widemouth Bay, England - Tuckerton, USA | Ocean Cable Co (part) | AT&T - BT - DTAG - KPN - France Telecom | Cable Innovator - Cable Endeavour - Bold Endurance - Wave Sentinel - Subaru - Maersk Recorder - Maersk Forwarder - Sir Eric Sharp - Agile - Teliri - Fresnel - Vercors | System 15428 km. Fresnel laid segments K3 and L 2855 km, of which 324 km was buried. Vercors laid segment G2 3355 km. Subaru laid 5414 km. | 16 x 10 Gb/s SDH |
| 2001 | FLAG ATLANTIC 1 USA - England - France | ASN 12570 km | Flag Atlantic Ltd | Fresnel | System 14500 km. Includes land based networks. Fresnel laid LAY 1, 550 km of which 20 km was buried. Reliance Infocomm bought the whole FLAG network for $211 million in 2004 | |
| 2001 | Global West Network USA | ? | Global Photon | ? | System 1350 km. | |
| 2001 | ARCOS 1- Phase 1: Hollywood, Florida, - Nassau - Cat Island - Crooked Island, Bahamas - Puerto Plata - Punta Cana, Dominican R - San Juan, Puerto Rico | Norddeutsche Seekabelwerke | AAC&R - C&W | ? | System 8201 km including Phase 2 (2002) | 15 Gb/s SDH with WDM on two repeatered segments. |
| 2001 | PAM AM: Panama City, Panama - Punta Carnero, Ecuador - Lurin, Peru - Arica, Chile | ? | C&W Panama - Telefonica Del Peru - Entel Chile | ? | System 4410 km. | 2.5 Gb/s (Upgradeable to 5 Gb/s) |
| 2001 | CHINA - USA NETWORK: Bandon, Oregon - San Luis Obispo, California - Tanguisson Point, Guam - Okinawa - Shantou, China - Fangshan, Taiwan - Chongming, China - Pusan, Korea - Chikura, Japan - Bandon, Oregon | ASN - Ocean Cable Co | AT&T - KDD - NTT | Flexservice III - Kuroshio Maru - Cable Innovator | System 30500 km. Kuroshio Maru laid 744 km. Cable Innovator loaded 880 km of armoured cable in Japan and laid and ploughed this from China. | 4 x 20 Gb/s |
| 2001 | NACS: China - Japan | ASN | Level 3 | ? | System 3650 km | |
| 2001 | Cook Strait, New Zealand: Levin, North Island - Nelson, South Island | ? | TNZ | ? | System 200 km. | |
| 2001 | AQUALINK: Auckland - Waikato - Taranaki - Manawatu - Wanganui, North Island NZ - Marlborough - Canterbury, South Island NZ | Ericsson | Telstra - Saturn | Searanger (Formerly Highland Fortress) | Highland Fortress was purchased from Gulf Offshore and converted for cable laying on Teesside, UK and renamed Searanger | |
| 2001 | EAST ASIA CROSSING: Hong Kong - Pa Li, Taiwan - Shindu Ri, Korea - Ajigaura - Shima, Japan - Pa Li, Taiwan - Hong Kong | KDD-SCS main contractor - Ocean Cable Co | ? | Bold Endurance - Cable Innovator - Cable Installer - Iris (3) - Vercors | System 19500 km. Iris (3) - Cable Installer carried out route clearance work. Vercors laid segments D, E, F, and BU2 863 km. | |
| 2001 | APCN 2: Singapore - China - Philippines - Taiwan - Japan - Korea - China - Hong Kong - Malaysia | Ocean Cable Co | ? | Cable Retriever - Bold Endurance - Fu Lai - Asean Restorer - Maersk Recorder - Maersk Repeater - Maersk Responder - Maersk Reliance - Subaru - Kuroshio Maru - Cable Installer. Barges, Networker - Elbe - Chin Ann 3 | Maersk Recorder laid 1250 km. Subaru 3759 km. Kuroshio Maru 1250 km. | 160 Gb/s initially now upgraded to 280 Gb/s. |
| 2001 | C2C Chikura - Shima, Japan - Pusan, Korea - Nanhui, China - Tanshui - Fangshan, Taiwan - Hong Kong - Changi, Singapore - Philippines - Chikura, Japan: Hong Kong - Philippines | Ocean Cable Co (Segments 4-5). TYCO | C2C | Fresnel - Maersk Recorder (1674 km) | System 17000 km. Fresnel laid 1600 km of which 1300 km was buried | 10 Gb/s |
| 2001 | FNAL (FLAG North Asian Loop), Western Leg, Hong Kong - Korea - Japan - | ? | FLAG Telecom | ? | System 10,000 km including entry below | 320 Gb/s upgradeable to 3.8 Tb/s |
| 2001 | FNAL: Eastern Leg, Hong Kong - Taiwan - Japan - | ? | Level 3 | ? | See above | 320 Gb/s upgradeable to 3.8 Tb/s |
| 2001 | SAm-1: Boca Raton, Florida, USA - Isla Verde, Puerto Rico - Fortaleza - Salvador - Rio de Janeiro - Santos, Brazil - Las Toninas, Argentina - Valparaso - Arica, Chile - Lurin - Mancora, Peru - Puerto San Jose - Puerto Barrios, Guatemala - Salinas, Ecuador - Barranquilla, Colombia | ? | ? | ? | Festoon system with a total length of 24,624 km. | Capacity: 10 G/bits. |
| 2002 | ARCOS 1- Phase 2: Hollywood, Florida - Cancun - Cozumel, Mexico - Ladyville, Belize - Puerto Barrio, Guatemala - Puerto Cortes - Trujillo - Puerto Lempira, Honduras - Puerto Cabezas - Bluefields, Nicaragua - Puerto Limon, Costa - Rica - Maria Chiquita, Panama - Ustupo - Cartagena - Rio Hacha, Colombia - Punta Fijo, Venezuela - Willemstad, Curacao - San Juan, Puerto Rico | Norddeutsche Seekabelwerke | Belize Telecom - Antelcom | ? | System 8201 km including Phase 1 (2001) | 15 Gb/s SDH with WDM on two repeatered segments. |
| 2002 | FLAG Pacific 1: Japan - USA - Canada | ASN | Flag Telecom | ? | ||
| 2002 | Ar, Gotland - Ut, Sweden | ? | AB Stokab | ? | System 135 km. | |
| 2002 | VSNL Northern Europe: (Formerly Tyco NE) Hunmanby, England - Eemshaven, Holland | ? | VSNL | ? | 578 km. | 3.84 Tb/s (Maximum capacity) |
| 2002 | VSNL Western Europe: (Formerly Tyco WE) Brean, England - Seixal, Portugal: Saunton Sands, England - Sopelana, Spain | ? | VSNL | ? | System 2265 + 1434 km. | 3.84 Tb/s (Maximum capacity) |
| 2002 | SAT 3/WASC: Melkbosstrand, South Africa - Luanda, Angola - Libreville, Gabon - Douala, Cameroon - Lagos, Nigeria - Cotonou, Benin - Accra, Ghana - Abidjan, Ivory Coast - Dakar, Senegal - Alta Vista, Gran Canaria - Chipiona, Spain - Sesimbra, Portugal | ASN Calais 14000 km. | Telkom SA - Telefonica - Angola Telekom - Ghana Telecom - Nitel - Gabon PT - Benin PT - Marconi - Sonatel - Camtel - CIT | ? | System 14350 km | Phase 1: 20 Gb/s. Phase 2: 40 Gb/s. Maximum 120 Gb/s |
| 2002 | ALPAL 2: Algeria - Majorca | Pirelli | Telefonica - France Telecom - APT | Maersk Responder | System 320 km. | 4 x 2.5 Gb/s |
| 2002 | SAFE: Cape Town - Durban, South Africa - St Paul, Reunion - Baie Jacotet, Mauritius - Cochin, India - Penang, Malaysia | Tycom SCS main contractor | VSNL - France Telecom - Telkom SA | Vercors | System 13500 km. Vercors laid segments S8B, S9B, S10B, 3166 km | Phase 1: 20 Gb/s. Phase 2: 40 Gb/s. Maximum 120 Gb/s |
| 2002 | i2i Tuias, Singapore - Chennai, India | ? | Network i2i | ? | System 3200 km. | 10 Gb/s |
| 2002 | VSNL Transpacific: Emi, Japan - Nedonna Beach, Oregon: Toyohashi, Japan - Piti, Guam: Hermosa Beach, California, - Twin Rocks, Oregon: Toyohashi, Japan - Twin Rocks, Oregon | Tyco SSI | VSNL | ? | System 8338 + 2741 + 2064 + 8652 km. Renamed following takeover of Tyco cables by VSNL. | 5.12 Tb/s |
| 2002 | Kami Hachiman - Okinoshima, Japan | ? | NTT | ? | ||
| 2003 | Crozet Islands | CEA | UNO | Rene Descartes | System of hydrophones with satellite link for use by UNO | |
| 2003 | APOLLO: North: Bude, England - Shirley (Long Island, NY, USA); South: Lannion, France - Manasquan, NJ, USA | ASN | C&W | Ile de Batz - Ile de Brehat - Ile de Sein - Skandi Neptune | System North route 6200 km., 160 repeaters, 35 equalisers. South route 6530 km., 175 repeaters, 35 equalisers. Skandi Neptune laid the European shelf section on the North route 847 km. Ile de Brehat 4400 km main lay on the North route. Ile de Sein European section on the South route 1912 km. The remainder was laid by Ile de Batz | 10 Gb/s per fiber pair, 4 pairs per leg, 80 wavelengths per pair, ultimate capacity 3.2Tb/s per leg |
| 2003 | Bass Strait 2: Inverloch, Victoria, Australia - Stanley, Tasmania | ASN Calais | Telstra | Ile de Batz | System 240 km. | 2.5 Gb/s |
| 2003 | ALASKA UNITED WEST Seward, Alaska - Oregon, USA | ? | GCI | ? | System 2500 km | 10 Gb/s |
| 2003 | Azores - Madeira | ASN Calais | PTC | Ile de Sein | System 1135 km. | 16 x 10 Gb/s SDH |
| 2003 | Madeira - Porto Santo | ASN Calais | PTC | Ile de Sein | System 85 km unrepeatered. | |
| 2003 | FARICE: Funningsfjordur, Faroe Islands - Seydisfjordur, Iceland - Dunnet Bay, Scotland | Pirelli | Farice Ltd - Iceland Telecom Ltd | Pertinacia | System 1400 km. | 2 x 10 Gb/s |
| 2003 | Meike - Sawada, Japan | ? | NTT | Subaru | ||
| ? | SILK ROUTE Phase 1: Athens, Greece - Padova, Italy: Athens - Crete | Pirelli | ? | ? | System 1900 km. | |
| ? | INDOSAT: East Java - Jakarta - Bandung - Sumatra | Pirelli | ? | ? | System 1376 km including landlines. | |
| ? | Sumatra - Batum | Pirelli | System 345 km. | |||
| 2004 | Breivika, Norway - Hotellneset, Svalbard. 2 cables Segment 1 and 2 | Tyco | Owner: Norwegian Space Centre Operator: Telenor |
Cable Innovator - Maersk Recorder | System:- Each cable consists of 8 fibre pairs, Only one pair is required at present and only Segment 1 cable is used Segment 2 acting as back up. Segment l:-1375 km with 172 km buried, 20 repeaters. Cable Innovator commenced laying from Breivika on 26 July 2003 and Maersk Recorder from Hotellneset on 21 July 2003. The final splice took place midway between the terminals on 1 August 2003. Segment 2:- 1339 km with 173 km buried, 20 repeaters. Cable Innovator commenced laying from Breivika on 4 August 2003 and Maersk Recorder from Hotellneset on 1 August 2003- The final splice took place midway between the terminals on 13 August 2003. The cable (Segment 1) came into service in January 2004 | |
| 2004 | Breivika, Harstad, Norway. 2 cables Segment 1A and 2A both repeaterless | Tyco | Owner: Norwegian Space Centre Operator: Telenor | Cable Innovator - Maersk Recorder | System Segment 1 A 61 km. Segment 2A 74 km. Both cables are a combination of land and submarine cable, The cable (Segment 1 A) was brought into service in January 2004 | |
| 2004 | UAE - Iran | Pirelli | System 350 km, plus 50 km of landline | |||
| 2004 | TIC: Singapore - Mumbai, India | Tyco | VSNL | Tyco Durable | System 3200 km. Originally a link between Mumbai and Chennai was planned but was not carried out | |
| 2004 | Doha - Halul, Qatar - Das Island, UAE | Etilsat | System 200 km. | |||
| 2004 | TELAPA: La Gaviota, Las Palmas - El Socorro, Tenerife | ? | ? | System 130 km. | 2 x 10 Gb/s | |
| 2004 | EASTLINK: Graham Pond, Prince Edward Island - Port Hood, Cape Breton Island, Canada | Ile de Batz | System 54 km., the whole cable being buried. Installation was carried out by IT International Telecom | |||
| 2004 | COGIM: Cable Optique; La Gaspsie - Iles de la Madeleine, Canada | Nexans, Norway | Ile de Batz | System 2 cables, 220 and 216 km. Both cables were buried. Installation was carried out by IT International Telecom | ||
| 2004 | Okinawa Hontou - Myakojima - Ishigakijima, Japan | ? | NTT | ? | ||
| 2004 | Ventspils, Latvia - Gotland, Sweden | ? | Baltcom Fiber SIA - AB Stokab | ? | System 175 km. | |
| 2004 | SMPR-1: St. Maarten - Isla Verde, Puerto Rico | ? | SMITCOMS | ? | System 375 km | Initial capacity 2.5 G/bs. Maximum capacity 20 G/bs |
| 2005 | 8 Mile Rock, Grand Bahama - Alice Town, Bimini | Norddeutsche Seekabelwerke | Cable Innovator | |||
| 2005 | Basslink: McGaurans Beach, Victoria - Four Mile Bluff, Tasmania | ? | National Grid Australia | System 298 km 400 kV power cable | ||
| 2005 | SEA ME WE 4 France - Singapore | ASN - Fujitsu | Singtel, Singapore - Telekom Malaysia Berhad - CAT Telecom, Thailand - Barti Infotel Ltd., India - VSNL, India - Bangladesh T&T - Sri Lanka Telecom Ltd - Pakistan Telecommunication Co. Ltd. - ETISALAT, UAE - Saudi Telecom Co. - Telecom Egypt - Tunisie Telecom - Algerie Telecom - Telecom Italia Sparkle S.p.A - France Telecom - MCI, UK | Niwa - Descartes | System 20000 km. Melaka, Salun, Cox's Bazar, Colombo, Karachi, Fujairah, Bizerte and Annaba were linked to the main cable by branching units. | 1.28 Tb/s |
| 2005 | SEA ME WE 4: SEGMENT S1; Singapore - Melaka, Malaysia - Salun, Thailand - Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh - Chennai, India - Colombo, Sri Lanka - Mumbai, India | Fujitsu 8,000 km and all repeaters | See above | Niwa (Formerly Global Link) | CS Niwa laid the shore ends and carried out burial work at Mumbai | 1.28 Tb/s |
| 2005 | SEA ME WE 4: SEGMENT S2; Mumbai, India - Karachi, Pakistan - Fujairah, UAE - Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - Suez, Egypt | ASN 5500 km and all repeaters | See above | Niwa | System 5500 km. Inaugrated 13 December 2005 | 1.28 Tb/s |
| 2005 | SEA ME WE 4: SEGMENT S3: Landines Suez - Alexandria, Egypt | ASN | See above | 1.28 Tb/s | ||
| 2005 | SEA ME WE 4: SEGMENT 4; Alexandria, Egypt - Palermo, Italy - Bizerte, Tunisia - Annaba, Algeria - Marseille, France | ASN 6500 km cable - Fujitsu all repeaters | See above | System 6500 km | 1.28 Tb/s | |
| 2005 | FALCON: Egypt - Gulf States - India | Alcatel | FLAG TELECOM | ? | Oman - India section opened for service December 2005. The remainder September 2006 | |
| 2005 | Med Cable: Marseille, France - Annaba - Algiers, Algeria | ? | Med Cable | ? | System 1215 km | 2 x 10 Gb/s |
| 2005 | DMCS: Dumai, Indonesia - Melaka, Malaysia | ? | Telekom Malaysia - PT Telkom | ? | System 148 km | ? |
| 2006 | BLCS: Bharat Lanka Cable System; Mount Lavinia, Sri Lanka - Tuticorin, India | ? | Sri Lanka Telekom - BSNL India | ? | System 338 km | 10 G/bs |
| 2006 | HUGO: Porthcurno, England - Guernsey - France | ASN | C&W | Tycom Reliance | Porthcurno - Guernsey section laid 3 - 24 July 2006 and Guernsey - France 27 July - 8 August 2006. AHTS Granit carried out route clearance. Cable buried throughout. Cable is a recovered section of the GEMINI South cable laid in 1997. | 60 + 55 Gb/s SDH. . |
| 2006 | BUS 2: Manasquan, USA - Devonshire, Bermuda | Standard Telephones & Cables Ltd., Southampton. | C&W | ? | Part of the GEMINI South cable was recovered and laid over this route | 60 + 55 Gb/s SDH. . |
| 2006 | VENUS: Victoria Experimental Network Under the Sea | University of Victoria, Canada | Wave Venture | System 4 km. Scheme to put the ocean floor on line at www.venus.uvic.ca | ||
| 2006 | Fibralink: Jamaica - Dominican Republic | IT Intrepid | System 800 km | |||
| 2006 | Ocho Rios - Montego Bay, Jamaica | IT Intrepid | System 130 km unrepeatered | |||
| 2006 | APNG 2 Sydney, Australia - Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | ASN | TelikomPNG - Telstra - Telecom NZ | Ile de Re | System 1800 km. This was part of the PACRIM WEST cable which was withdrawn from service in 2005. Ile de Re first recovered 300 km of cable which was tested and found to be in servicable condition. So the main recovery was undertaken. This started just to the south of Guam to a point off Rockampton, Queensland where the cable was cut. The Sydney end of the cable was then spliced to the recovered cable and Ile de Re headed for Ela Beach, Port Moresby. | |
| 2006 | Anchorage - Seward - Kenai Peninsula - Kodiak Island, Alaska | ASN | Kenai Kodiak Cable Company | Maersk Defender | Repeaterless cable. Laying commenced July 2006 and was completed by December | |
| 2006 | Tuticorin, India - Mt Lavinia, Sri Lanka | NEC (Prime Contractor) | Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, India - Sri Lanka Telecom | Subaru | System 323 km. Initial capacity 40Gbps. Maximum capacity 960Gbps. | |
| 2006 | Estlink: Helsinki, Finland - Talin, Estonia | ? | ABB - Eesti Energia - Latvenergo - Lietuvos Energia - Pohjolan Voima - Helsinki Energia | Sovereign | System: 2 high voltage cables each 77 k,m laid in parallel | |
| 2007 | Sri Lanka - Male, Maldives | NEC (Prime Contractor) | Dhiraagu (Dhivehi Raajjeyge Gulhun Private Ltd.) - Sri Lanka Telecom | ? | System 1100 km., including connections to four other islands | |
| 2007 | Sovetskaya Gavan, Russia - Ilinskij, Sakhalin Island | ? | TransTeleCom | Fu Hai (Formerly Maersk Recorder) | Global Marine Systems and Sino British Submarine Systems carried out the installation | |
| 2007 | La Gomera - El Hierro, Canary Islands | Tyco Telecommunications | Telefonica de Espaa | Teneo | System 145 km. | |
| 2007 | Trinidad & Tobago - Curacao | Tyco Telecommunications | Columbus Networks | ? | System 1000 km. | |
| 2008 | HSCS: Hokkaido-Sakahalin Cable System: Hokkaido, Japan - Nevelsk, Sakahalin Island, Russia | ? | NTT Com - TransTeleCom | Subaru | System 570 km. Work carried out from July 8 to November 26 2007. Brought into service 3 July 2008 | 640 Gb/s |
| 2008 | Colombia - Jamaica - Florida | Tyco Telecommunications | Columbus Networks | ? | ||
| 2008 | Angola Coastal Network | Ericsson | ? | ? | System 1500 km. Italian company 'Elettra' to lay and bury cable | |
| 2008 | MATRIX CABLE SYSTEM:- Jakarta - Batam - Pontianak, Indonesia - Singapore | Tyco Telecommunications | ? | Wave Mercury - Cable Networker (barge) | System 1350 km. Route survey completed August 2007. Extension to Perth, Australia to be installed at a later date. | 4 fibre pairs each carrying 64 x 10 Gb/s. Maximum capacity 2.6 Tb/s DWDM. |
| 2008 | TGN INTRA ASIA: Singapore - Hong Kong - Japan | Tyco Telecommunications | VSNL | Work was to start December 2006 with the cable coming into service late 2007/early 2008 | ||
| 2008 | GONDWANA 1: Nouma, New Caledonia - Sydney, Australia | Alcatel | OPT, New Caledonia | Ile de R | Work is scheduled to be completed by Spring 2008 | |
| 2008 | Poindimi - Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia | Alcatel | OPT, New Caledonia | Ile de R | Repeaterless cable. Work is scheduled to be completed by Spring 2008 | |
| 2008 | EAC-PACIFIC: Northern route Japan - USA | ? | ASIA NETCOM | ? | System 23500 km including two entries below. Scheduled to be completed by July 2008 | 2.56 Tb/s DWDM |
| 2008 | EAC-PACIFIC: Southern route: Philippines - Guam - Hawaii - USA | ? | ASIA NETCOM | ? | 2.56 Tb/s DWDM | |
| 2008 | EAC-PACIFIC: Philippines - Japan | ? | ASIA NETCOM | ? | 2.56 Tb/s DWDM | |
| 2008 | TPE (Trans Pacific Express) Nedonna Beach, USA - Chongming & Qingdao, China -Tanshui, Taiwan - Keoje, South Korea | Tyco Telecommunications - Alcatel - NEC Submarine Systems | Verizon Business - China Telecom - China Netcom - China Unicom - Korean Telecom - Chungwa Telecom | Tyco Durable - Ile de Sein - Ile de Batz - Fu Hai - Segero - Cable Innovator | System 18000 km. Work is scheduled to be completed by Autumn 2008 | 2.56 Tb/s |
| 2008 | Australia - Hawaii | Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Systems | Telstra | Ile de Sein | Due for completion end 2008 | 1.28 Tb/s |
| 2008 | SHEFA 2: Scotland - Orkney Islands - Shetland Islands - Faroe Islands | NSW | Xtera | IT Intrepid | System 700 km | |
| 2008 | DANICE: Denmark - Iceland | ? | Farice Inc. | ? | ||
| 2008 | BT LIBERTY: L'Ancresse Bay, Guernsey - Blackpool Sands, Devon, England | ASN Calais | BT | Sovereign | Laying took place 24 April - 30 April 2008. | |
| 2008 | NORTHERN LIGHTS: Dunnet Bay, Scotland - Skaill, Orkney Islands | ASN, Calais | BT | Sovereign | Laying expected to be carried out June - July 2008. Laying interrupted due to Sovereign having to return to port (Hebburn on Tyne) for engine repairs. Left port on 19 July following completion of repairs. | |
| 2008 | GREENLAND CONNECT: Milton, Newfoundland - Nuuk, Greenland: Nuuk - Qaqortoq, Greenland - Landeyarsandur, Iceland | Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks | Tele Greenland | Maersk Responder assisted by Blue Castor (Milton - Nuuk): Ile de Sein (Landeyarsandur - Qaqortoq -Nuuk) | System 2500 + 2100 km. Contract signed December 2007. Due to open for service 4th quarter 2008 | 96 x 10 Gb/s |
| 2008 | MARS: Monterey Accelerated Research System | Global Sentinel | Consists of 52 km of power and fibre optic cable laid in Monterey Bay terminating in a 5 ton node containing earthquake sensors and low light cameras etc. Went live 10 November 2008 | |||
| 2009 | JAKABARE: Jakarta, Java - Ponitianak, Kalimantan - Batam Island, Indonesia - Singapore | NEC (Main Contractors) | ? | Cable Innovator | System 1300 km. Laying completed Jan 2009 | 160 Gb/s initially, upgradeable to 640 Gb/s. |
| 2009 | GO 1: St Pauls Bay, Malta - Mazara del Vallo, Sicily | Alcatel-Lucent - Elettra | GO - Interoute | Teliri | System 290 km. Alcatel-Lucent will manufacture the cable and Elettra will carry out laying and route survey. Malta shore end laid 26 November. Main lay was to start 2 December but was delayed by gales. Laying to take two weeks and the cable is due to enter service early 2009. | 2 x 10Gb/s |
| 2009 | CHALLENGER: Bermuda - USA | Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks | Cable Co Ltd. - North Rock Communications Ltd | ? | System 1445 kms. Due to open for service early 2009. Laying completed September 2008. | Initial capacity 20 Gb/s. Maximum capacity 320 Gb/s |
| 2009 | PPC 1: Sydney - Brisbane, Australia - Popondetta - Madang, Papua New Guinea - Guam | Hitachi | PIPE NETWORKS - VSNL | Tyco Durable - Tyco Decisive | System 6900 km. Due for completion 2009. Tyco Durable working North and Tyco Decisive working South. Cable crosses the Marianas Trench (maximum depth 12000 m) Cable maximum depth 9440 m. Opened for service 8 October 2009 | 2 fibre pair, 1.92 Tb/s. Maximum capacity now 2.56Tb/s. |
| 2009 | NEPTUNE: North-East Pacific Time-Series Networked Experiments: Port Alberni - Bamfield - Folger Passage (Node) - ODP 889 (Node) - Middle Valley (Node) - Endeavour (Node) - ODP 1027 (Node) - Barkley Canyon (Node) - Bamfield - Port Alberni | Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Systems | University of Victoria, Canada | M/V Frosti carried out the route survey - Ile de Sein laid the cable - Global Sentinel carried out the Post Lay Inspection Burial (PLIB) | System 800 km of power and fibre optic cable in the main loop and two similar spurs to Middle Valley and Endeavour totalling 125 km. Cable laying commenced 23 Aug 2007 and was scheduled to be completed in seven weeks. Nodes to be laid in 2008 and the whole system to be online in 2009 | |
| 2009 | South Africa - Mozambique - Madagascar - Tanzania - Kenya - UAE - India: Kenya - Egypt - Italy | Neotel - SEACOM | Brought into service on 23 July 2009 | |||
| 2009 | TGN INTRA EURASIA: Mumbai, India - Egypt - Paris, France - London, England | ? | VSNL | ? | ||
| 2009 | I-ME-WE Section 1: Mumbai, India - Yemen - Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: Karachi, Pakistan and Fujairah, UAE are linked via branching units to the main cable. | Alcatel-Lucent (Prime Contractor) | Bharti Airtel - VSNL, India - PTCL, Pakistan - Etisalat, UAE - STC, Saudi Arabia - Ogero, Lebanon - TE, Egypt - Telecom Italia Sparkle, Italy - France Telecom, France | Cable Innovator | System 14000 km. Due for completion late 2009 Mumbai - Yemen cable laid first, then Jeddah - Yemen cable. |
3.84 Tb/s |
| 2009 | GLO 1; Bude, Cornwall, England - Vigo, Spain - Dakar, Senegal - Accra, Ghana - Alpha Beach, Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria: Branching units to Casablanca, Morocco; Nouakchott, Mauretania; Abijdan, Ivory Coast | Alcatel-Lucent (Prime Contractor) | Globacom | Ile de Batz - IT Intrepid | System 9800 km. UK - Spain section, Ile de Batz carried out route clearance work on 9 May 2007, and commenced laying 10 May completing it on 26 May. Main cable landed in Nigeria on 5 September 2009 | Initial capacity 640Gb/s. Total capacity 2.5Tb/s |
| 2009 | HANNIBAL: Kelibia, Tunisia - Mazara, Italy | Huawei Marine (Prime Contractor) | Tunisie Telecom | Sovereign | System 170 km. | Initial capacity 10 Gb/s per fibre pair, increasing to 40 Gb/s per fibre pair. Maximum capacity 3.2 Gb/s |
| 2009 | TEAMS: The East African Marine System:- Fujairah, UAE - Mombasa, Kenya | Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks | Kenyan Government owns 45%; Etilsat 15%. Remainder split between various telecomms companies and ISP's | Niwa | System 4900 km. Contract signed November 2007. Laying commenced from Fujairah April 2009 and is due to be completed June 2009. | 640Gb/s. Maximum capacity 1.2Tb/s |
| 2009 | SEACOM: Mumbai, India via BU - Mombasa, Kenya - Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - Toliary, Madagascar - Maputo, Mozambique - Mtunzini, South Africa: Djibouti - Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - Ras Sidr, Egypt - Marseille, France | Tyco Telecommunications | ? | Tyco Durable - Tyco Decisive - Tyco Dependable - Tyco Resolute - Tyco Responder | System 13000 km. Contract signed July 2007. Due to open for service July 2009. Direct links to London have been made available. | 640 Gb/s |
| 2009 | AKORN: Homer, Alaska - Florence, Oregon, USA | ? | ACS Communications Systems | ? | System 2808 km | 10 G/bs |
| 2009 | AAG: ASIA AMERICA GATEWAY: Malaysia - Singapore - Thailand - Brunei - Vietnam - Hong Kong - Philippines - Guam - Hawaii - USA | Alcatel - NEC | Telekom Malaysia - StarHub, Singapore - CAT, Thailand - Brunei Govt. - Telstra, Australia - PLDT, Philippines - PT Telekom, Indonesia - VNPT, Vietnam - Bharti, India - AT&T, USA | ? | System 20,000 km. Brought into service on 11 Nov 2009 | 500 G/bs |
| 2010 | PACIFIC UNITY: Chikura, Japan - Los Angeles, USA | NEC (Prime Contractor) - Tyco Telecommunications | Google - Bharti Airtel Ltd - Global Transit - KDDI - Pacnet - Sing Tel | ? | System 10000 km. Contract signed Feb 2008. Due for completion first quarter 2010 | 960 Gb/s per fibre pair. Total capacity 7.68 Tb/s |
| 2010 | FLAG NGN: System 1: India - Malaysia - Singapore - Indonesia - Philippines - Brunei - Vietnam - Hong Kong | Fujitsu | FLAG TELECOM | System 50,000 km including entries below | ||
| 2010 | FLAG NGN: System 2: India - Kenya - Tanzania - Mozambique - South Africa: Madagascar - Mauritius | Fujitsu | FLAG TELECOM | |||
| 2010 | FLAG NGN: System 3: Libya - Lebanon - Cyprus - Greece - Turkey - Malta | Fujitsu | FLAG TELECOM | |||
| 2010 | FLAG NGN: System 4: Japan - China - Hong Kong - USA | Fujitsu | FLAG TELECOM | |||
| 2010 | HONTUA: Tahiti, French Polynesia - Hawaii | ? | ? | ? | System 4650 km plus 305 km for inter island cables. | |
| 2010 | EIG: Europe India Gateway; UK - Portugal - Gibraltar - Morocco - Monaco - France - Libya - Egypt - Saudi Arabia - Djibouti - Oman - UAE - India | Alcatel-Lucent - Tyco Telecommunications | AT&T - Bharti Airtel - BT - C&W - Djibouti Telecom - Gibtelcom - IAM - Libya PTT - MTN Group - Omantel - UAE PT - Saudi Telecom - Telecom Egypt - Telkom SA - Verizon Business | ? | System 15000 km. Due for completion 2nd quarter 2010 | 3.84 Tb/s DWDM |
| 2010 | EASSy: EAST AFRICA SUBMARINE CABLE SYSTEM: Port Sudan, Sudan - Mitsiwa, Eritrea - Djibouti - Mogadishu, Somalia - Mombasa, Kenya - Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - Zanzibar - Toliary, Madagascar - Maputo, Mozambique - Mtunzini, South Africa: ? - Comoros - Mayotte | Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Systems | WIOCC: West Indian Ocean Cable Company which consists of the telecoms companies in the following countries:- Djibouti - Kenya - Somalia - Uganda - Zanzibar - Burundi - Nigeria - Botswana - Mozambique - Lesotho. Other partners are - Mauritius Telecom - Comoros Telecom - Sudatel, Sudan - MTN Group - Neotel - Telkom, South Africa - Telecom Malagasy - Tanzania Telecoms - Zambia Telecoms - BT, UK - France Telecom - Etisalat, UAE - Bharthi AerTel, India - Saudi Telecom | ? | System 10500 km. Construction contract signed March 2007. In service first half of 2010. Landlocked countries; Botswana - Burundi - Central African Republic - Democratic Republic of Congo - Chad - Ethiopia - Lesotho - Malawi - Rwanda - Swaziland - Uganda - Zambia and Zimbabwe; will be linked to the cable via a land based fibre optic network | 3 fibre pairs. 3 x 10 Gb/s per fibre pair upgradeable to 32 x 10 Gb/s |
| 2010 | MAIN ONE: Phase 1; Portugal - Ghana - Nigeria: Phase 2; Nigeria - Angola - South Africa | Tyco (Cable) | ? | ? | Due for completion May 2010 | 2 fibre pair, 1.28 Tb/s |
| 2010 | Project Kelvin: Dublin - Drogheda - Dundalk - Castleblayney - Monaghan, Ireland - Omagh - Strabane, N. Ireland - Letterkenny, Ireland - Londonderry - Coleraine, N. Ireland: Monaghan - Armagh - Portadown - Belfast - Ballymena - Coleraine, N. Ireland | ? | Hibernia Atlantic | Sovereign | Landline with a connection to Hibernia's southern cable at Dublin and a connection to their northern cable via a branching unit and cable to Coleraine. Due to enter service March 2010 | |
| 2010 | Iceland - via branching unit to Hibernia's Northern cable | Hibernia Atlantic | Will provide Iceland with a direct link to Canada, USA, Ireland, England | |||
| 2010 | Maldonado, Uruguay - Las Toninas, Argentina | Alcatel-Lucent (Prime Contractor) | Antel - Telecom Argentina | System 250 km. Due for completion 4th quarter 2010 | Maximum capacity 3.84 Tb/s | |
| 2010 | MKCS: Mataran - Kapang Cable System. Connects 5 islands off the east coast of Indonesia | Huewai Marine (Prime contractor) | PT Telkom | ? | System 1200 km. Due for completion late 2010 | Initial capacity 4 x 10 G/bs |
| 2010 | Surinam - ? | Sovereign | System 1300 km. Sovereign is at present (December 2009) loading the cable at Rognan, Norway and will sail for Surinam in the New Year. | |||
| 2011 | Gulf States Network | Gulf Bridge International (Main Contractor) | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 2011 | ACE (Africa Coast to Europe) France - Spain - Portugal - Morocco - Canary Islands - Mauritania - Cape Verde Islands - Senegal - Gambia - Guinea Bissau - Guinea - Sierra Leone - Liberia - Ivory Coast - Ghana - Togo - Benin - Nigeria - Cameroun - Equatorial Guinea - St Thomas & Prince Islands - Gabon - DR Congo - Angola - Namibia - South Africa | Mauritano-Tunisienne des Telecommunications - Camtel - Companhia Santomense de Telecomunicacoes- Benin Telecoms SA - Cdte d'lvoire Telecom - France Telecom SA - Gamtel - Maroc Telecom - Orange Bissau - Orange Cameroun - Orange Guinee - Orange Mali - Orange Niger - Orange Spain - Portugal Telecom - Sonatel - Togo Telecom | System 14000 km | Maximum capacity 1.92 Tb/s | ||
| 2012 | SJC: South East Asia Japan Cable; Singapore - Hong Kong - Indonesia - Philippines - Japan | ? | Global Telecom - Google - KDDI - Reliance Globalcom - Telemedia Pacific Inc Ltd | ? | System 8300 km | Maximum capacity 23 T/bs |
| ? | India - Gulf States - Africa - Europe | ? | VSNL | ? | Dates as yet unknown | |
| ? | MINERVA | Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Systems | System 500 km. Contract signed February 2007 | |||
| ? | Newfoundland - Nova Scotia | Nexans | ? | IT Intrepid | System 800 km. International Telecom to instal the cable. | |
| ? | CFX 1 | Tyco Telecommunications | ? | ? | System 2400 km. Contract signed May 2007 | |
| ? | MIC 1 | ? | ? | ? | System 70 km. Contract signed July 2007. Global Marine Systems to instal the cable | |
| ? | COMETA | Nexans | ? | ? | System 480 km. Contract signed September 2007 | |
| ? | CAUCASUS ONLINE | Tyco Telecommunications | ? | ? | System 1100 km. Contract signed September 2007 | |
| ? | SALP: Seaton Anderson Lake Project | IT Intrepid | System 44 km.Contract signed October 2007. International Telecom to instal the cable. | |||
| ? | PFOC: Paniola Fibre Optic Cable | ? | ? | IT Intrepid | System 450 km. Contract signed October 2007. International Telecom to instal the cable | |
| ? | ACS: Alaska - Oregon, USA | Tyco Telecommunications | ? | ? | System 3200 km. Contract signed October 2007 | |
| ? | Alaska United | NEC | ? | ? | System 1220 km. Contract signed October 2007 | |
| ? | SEAK: South East Alaska Fibre Optic System: Will connect Angoon , Hawk Inlet, Juneau, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Sitka and Wrangell to the existing Alaska United West System | ? | GCI Communications Corporation | ? | ||
| ? | MENA: Mediterranean | Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks | ? | ? | System 3850 km. Contract signed October 2007 | |
| ? | TE NORTH: Sidi Kerir, Egypt - Marseille, France | Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks | Telecom Egypt - France Telecom | ? | System 3100 km. | |
| ? | Malabo, Bioko Island - Bata, Equatorial Guinea | Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks | ? | System 280 km. | 80 Gb/s | |
| ? | PPC-2: Australia - New Zealand | ? | Pipe International (Australia) Pty Ltd - Kordia Group Ltd | ? | Cable from NZ will join PPC-1 off Sydney, Australia via an already laid branching unit. | 2 fibre pair, maximum capacity 1.92 Tb/s |
| ? | New Zealand - Australia | Kordia | In the planning stage | |||
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Last revised: 7 January, 2010 |
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