wiredInUSA September 2020

First stage for Arctic cable

2Africa survey

2Africa route Fugro is providing offshore and onshore survey services, including a geophysical route survey and shallow geotechnical testing, for the 37,000km 2Africa submarine cable to connect Europe (via Egypt), the Middle East (via Saudi Arabia), and 16 countries in Africa. Fugro began its survey program in March 2020, and plans to conclude the work in March 2021. The 2Africa system is expected to enter operations in 2023/2024, delivering a design capacity of up to 180Tbps. The 2Africa consortium of China Mobile International, Facebook, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, stc, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone and West Indian Ocean Cable Company has appointed Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) to build the cable in a fully funded project. The 2Africa cable will use ASN’s SDM1 technology, allowing deployment of up to 16 fiber pairs.

Professor Logachev research vessel

MegaFon has begun its offshore survey as part of the Arctic Connect subsea cable project, working with Rosgeologiya and using its Professor Logachev research vessel. The expedition is expected to last three months, covering a distance of 6,500km and focusing on sections of the proposed route that offer the most challenging ice conditions in the Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian and Chukchi Seas. MegaFon and the Finnish infrastructure operator Cinia will build the first trans- Arctic subsea cable connecting Europe and Asia. The new system will run on the bottom of the Arctic Ocean, along the Russian Arctic coast. Extensions from the main route will provide connectivity to customers in the Arctic and the Far East. “The Arctic Connect project involves building a fiber optic link that will connect continents where 85 percent of the global population is concentrated. Our plan is to provide an unprecedentedly short signal transmission time and minimal latency, outperformingall existing links,” saidFrederic Vanoosthuyze, advisor to MegaFon’s CEO on strategic infrastructure projects. At launch, the Arctic Connect will have a throughput of 200Tbps.

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wiredInUSA September 2020