Convergencia Research, Consultoría especializada en Latinoamérica y Caribe
Tuesday, August 16, 2022

C&W Communications added 12 Tbps of capacity to its submarine network last year

Convergencialatina talked with Chris Coles, Chief Commercial Officer, B2B and Networks/Wholesale of C&W Communications, about the behavior of the sector in Latin America. Planning for current laying for the next 15 years will be one of the topics of debate at Carriers Map Day 2022, the event organized by Convergencialatina for next September 14.

In the submarine cable segment, Latin America has historically maintained annual wholesale capacity demand increases of between 20% and 22%, and currently they range from 18% to 25%.  In the specific case of C&W Communications, it added 9 terabits of capacity to its network between mid-2020 and mid-2021; and 12 terabits of capacity between mid-2021 and mid-2022, according to Chris Coles, Chief Commercial Officer, B2B and Networks/Wholesale of C&W Communications, in an interview with Convergencialatina.

This led them to wonder if the Covid-19 pandemic had a temporary impact on social dynamics, or if it should be taken as something permanent, considering the greater distribution of work spaces. Currently, the demand is motivated from three main origins: first, fixed broadband, then mobile broadband and third, B2B. And the actors requesting the increased capacity are generally the so-called "hyperscale", or new service providers. Although a change in the distribution of actors demanding capacity is noted, this did not result in a significant change in the volumes requested.

As Coles explained, the design of the C&W Communications network, besides the fact of being around two decades old, is capable of adapting to this trend thanks to the design of the system, with backbones, sides, layings towards individual markets and end-points in Colombia, United States, Trinidad and Tobago, Panama. The latter are primary markets where traffic congregates. "The design provides flexibility and longevity. The way repeaters and junction points are structured on landing allowed for continued improvements in electronic optics. We even still have dark fiber, which allows us to enable new capacity", he added.

To take a case as example, ARCOS cable, which surrounds the Caribbean in its Eastern and Western sections, was built in 2001 with a capacity of 960 Gbps. According to consultations with vendors, its useful life could be extended by another ten years: currently its capacity is 32 Tbps, thanks to upgrades carried out electronically.

Convergencialatina will organize Carriers Map Day 2022 on September 14. The companies in the sector that are already part of Carriers Map Day 2022 are Sparkle, Ufinet, TGC, Globenet, Silica Networks, EllaLink, Cirion and Cable & Wireless Communications. To register, enter here.

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