NEC to build a transatlantic submarine cable network for Facebook

Oct. 11, 2021

The system will feature 24 fiber pairs and will have design capacity of half a petabit per second.

NEC Corp. (NEC; TSE: 6701) says it will build a transatlantic submarine cable network for Facebook. The system will feature 24 fiber pairs and will have design capacity of half a petabit per second.

The 24 fiber pairs and the very high capacity implies the use of space-division multiplexing (SDM) transmission technology. NEC and its OCC Corp. subsidiary announced this past March qualification of 24-fiber-pair cables and repeaters and described the combination as compatible with SDM. Representatives from Sumitomo Electric Industries and Corning were quoted at the time as saying their respective fibers were compatible with the OCC cabling process.

Facebook already has transatlantic cable systems in place, most notably MAREA and HAVFRUE (see “Microsoft, Facebook partner for MAREA undersea cable system” and “HAVFRUE consortium targets transatlantic submarine cable system”).

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About the Author

Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave

Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.

Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.

He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.

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