GlobeNet and Facebook say that construction has begun on Malbec, a submarine network that will link Brazil and Argentina. GlobeNet had announced plans for the undersea cable system this past May (see "GlobeNet plans Argentina to Brazil submarine cable"); Facebook’s co-ownership of the submarine cable was only recently revealed.
GlobeNet will operate the 2,500 km submarine network, which will connect Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo in Brazil to the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires. The undersea cable will have a branching unit to connect into Porto Alegre, Brazil. Malbec also will connect with GlobeNet’s existing network in Brazil to offer onward connectivity to the United States (see "GlobeNet offers 100-Gbps wavelengths between Brazil, US").
“We are excited and proud to work with Facebook” says Eduardo Falzoni, CEO of GlobeNet. “Argentina deserves state-of-the-art infrastructure to satisfy the pressing demands of the years ahead. This project is a testament to our capabilities, expertise and commitment to the region where we have been operating for 15 years.”
Malbec will feature six fiber pairs and is expected to be ready for service in the first half of 2020. GlobeNet and Facebook say the submarine network will be the first new undersea system to reach the Argentinian coast since 2001. However, to accomplish that milestone, the so far unidentified deployment company will have to complete its task before that of the competing ARBR submarine cable, which is planned for an identical route (see “Seaborn Networks chooses Xtera for ARBR submarine network systems”).
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