Global Light's (AMEX:GBT) subsidiary, New World Network, announced it has landed the section of its Arcos submarine fiber optic network that runs from Nassau, Bahamas, to North Miami Beach. A crew on the C.S. Manta anchored just off the coast, and with five divers in the water and another crew member working from a manhole, the crew began the task of bringing in the fiber-optic cable.
The cable runs through a five-inch steel duct buried about 35 feet under the sea floor so as not to disturb the coral reef offshore. The duct runs under a hotel, beneath Collins Avenue, to the manhole and then on to New World's cable station a few blocks west.
New Worlds' ARCOS network is an 8,600-km undersea fiber-optic cable offering 15 Gbps of fully redundant capacity with a multi-upgradeable design capacity of 960 Gbps. The network is a coastal cable festoon designed to incorporate future technologies; this design allows New World to take advantage of the latest terminal technology at a given point in time. When completed, the entire ARCOS ring will provide an advanced communications network interconnecting the U.S., Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Curacao, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and Mexico.
"This cable landing marks the deployment of our fiber-optic network that will connect the U.S. with the Caribbean and Latin America," said David Warnes, CEO and President, New World Network. "From a single-source operator, the Americas have access to an advanced communications network with reliable, high-speed connections and infinitely expandable services," added Warnes.
Erica Eppinger, director of Latin America research and consulting for the Yankee Group in Boston, said "The Yankee Group estimates the demand in this market will grow from about $3 billion in 2001 to $21 billion in 2006."
About Global Light:
Global Light Telecommunications Inc. (AMEX: GBT) develops telecommunications projects, providing management, financial and business planning and administration, communication, technical and other services as required for operations in Latin America, North America, Europe and Asia.