C&W builds new underwater Caribbean cable
(CNS): Regional telecommunications company Cable & Wireless is promising customers great access and more high-speed bandwidth as a result ofa new submarine cable which is now under construction in the Caribbean and should be completed early next year. The firm said the cable will more than double its carrier capacity in the region. The “East-West” cable will link Jamaica and the Cayman Islands in the west of the Caribbean, to the British Virgin Islands (Tortola) in the east. Cable & Wireless Communications’ existing cable system links with 23 Caribbean countries, the East-West cable will complete a Caribbean ‘network ring’, improving resilience and access for carrier customers, the firm said.
“The East-West Cable will be a valuable addition to our carrier network, which is already the strongest in the Caribbean,” said Tony Rice, CEO at Cable & Wireless. “It will enhance the capability and service Cable & Wireless Communications provide to our carrier customers throughout the Americas and the Caribbean. We can supply high capacity, resilient submarine infrastructure in one of the fastest growing cable routes in the world. It also improves our ability to provide customers, in the Caribbean islands, with increasingly innovative services, like mobile data applications and IPTV."
The East-West Cable is the third new submarine cable built by Cable & Wireless Communications in the region since 2008, adding to the CBUS cable between Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands and the Gemini-Bermuda cable between Bermuda and the east coast of the US.
The cable which will also land in the Dominican Republic, one of the key markets in the region, will enable Cable & Wireless Communications and its Caribbean business, LIME, to meet the rising demand for high-speed bandwidth from consumers and business customers in the region. LIME operates in 13 Caribbean countries, and is developing a range of new fixed broadband and mobile data services for customers, which will require high quality capacity support.
The cable will also substantially strengthen Cable & Wireless Communications’ capability in serving its carrier customers in North and Latin America, as well as within the Caribbean.
Cable & Wireless Communications’ network is well positioned to benefit from growth in wholesale markets. The Caribbean is a major traffic corridor between South America and the major internet, content and carrier hubs in the United States – acknowledged as one of the fastest growing intercontinental routes in the world today.
The East-West cable strengthens Cable & Wireless Communication’s position as the leading wholesale capacity provider through the Caribbean Sea offering primary and secondary routes to New York and Miami.
Category: Business
