In an exclusive talk with Convergencialatina, the marketing director of Columbus Networks, Jorge Fernández, referred to the company’s expansion plans for the next years. The executive explained that as part of the consolidation of Columbus, foreseen for 2007, the carrier will go on to be called Columbus Networks. The name New World Network (NWN) will stop existing starting today.

Columbus Networks is owner of 95% of the ARCOS fiber optic ring that has 6,600 kilometers and connects Latin America and the Caribbean with the United States. Together with the networks of its partners Caribbean Crossing (Cable Bahamas) in Bahamas and Fibralink in Jamaica, the operation of ARCOS adds 10,000 kilometers.

Fernández underlined that Columbus is currently constructing a submarine cable between Curazao and Trinidad (Trinidad & Tobago). The path that is left open between St. Lucia and Trinidad will be closed through an agreement with Caribbean Crossing. However the most important plan of Columbus for this year, which will officially be announced in a few days, is to create an express route between Colombia and the United States. The network construction, which would be operating in March 2008, will demand an investment of US$ 80 million that would be financed by Columbus Communication Research. Fernández stated that, “the aim is to reach a network topology with more variety and more route options”.

Convergencialatina (CL): Through what places would the cable between Colombia and the United States run?

Jorge Fernández (JF): The cable would start in Colombia, and would run through the eastern side of Jamaica where it would connect to the island, because we have a very big operation of cable there. Then it would go through deep waters, between Cuba and the Dominican Republic without touching the island and finish in Boca Raton, Florida, where another landing station will be constructed, completely independent. The cable would be about 2,500 kilometers long. The new link in Colombia will be established between Cartagena and Barranquilla.

CL: Will the new Colombian link reduce broadband costs to end users in the country?

JF: Colombia has a very competitive environment. We also know that cables of Global Crossing and of Telefónica will be arriving soon. In this way, the increase in competition will favor the Colombian market with prices that will improve progressively, however not one of the carriers will initiate a war on prices. We know that prices will suffer an erosion, and at the same time, demand will continue growing .

CL: In relation to wholesale prices, is there a fall or is it stable?

JF: We foresee an adjustment in prices within the next few years. Even though we did not calculate it, it will not be significant this year. Starting 2008, we will be able to see a marked decrease in prices. Furthermore, we have to take into account the investments that all players are currently carrying out, which is why we do not expect to see a war on prices within the short term.

CL: To what factors due new investments answer to? ¿How is Internet traffic evolving throughout the region?

JF: As most of the Internet traffic is given in the eastern side of ARCOS, which entails Jamaica, Puerto Rico, The Dominica Republic and Colombia, from the point of view of the network topology it was necessary to balance the Internet traffic. For us, Colombia is an important market because we transport almost 70% of the international traffic. That is why we decided to give it more variety and more route options toward the United States as well as to the rest of the region. One of the biggest inconveniences at the moment, every time we have to make an upgrade  to increase capacity, we have to carry it out in each one of the 324 landing stations that ARCOS has in different points of the Caribbean and Central America, which takes up a lot of time and money. Therefore, that express route will allow us to make upgrades every time the Colombian market demands it, only in the base station that we will construct in Colombia and in the landing station in Florida. These upgrades for more capacity will be able to be carried out in a lot less time and at lower costs.

CL: What is your opinion on Venezuela’s project to construct a submarine cable between Caracas and La Habana?

JF:  Even though it is a project of social character, it favors us. I believe that the demand will be very incipient, overall in Cuba, because it does not have a sufficient penetration of computers like in Venezuela or other in countries. Likewise, Internet traffic would be given, however the content would not necessarily be created by Cuba or Venezuela. There is International content, which comes from the United States and the rest of the world, if that project is summoned up, they will be able to connect to the whole world, and we are going to be ready to make that connection. The connectivity to our network is something that could be managed without any problems.

CL: Which applications are impelling broadband growth in the Caribbean?

JF: In some developed countries, as the United States, Asia or Europe, video applications appear. Within the middle term we will see IPTV, personalized content services, free contents created by users and shared through social networks, more sophisticated applications like companies that create video platforms to give more detailed information of products, for example, medical applications. From my point of view and of the operator, if we purchase the traffic of voice, data and video, it will be a lot more convenient to satisfy users demands, meaning, users that will fill up the cables of our carriers. We are not interested to stimulate voice traffic because it is a business model that is a commodity. It does not have major capacity for growth because the penetration is already reaching saturation points in many markets.

CL: What role does WiMax play?

JF: WiMax penetration continues growing, because in addition to being wireless technology, it allows broadband Internet and data traffic. Its expansion goes in hand with the growth of personal computers. At the end, everything will have to converge in one point, which is a carrier. The issue is currently maturing and the penetration will not be very significant within the short term. No scaled technology to penetrate a market being developed like Latin American has been deployed yet. In the case of the Untied States and Europe, WiMax could be implemented because there is more purchasing power. Even though it will take time, we expect that in the long term, WiMax will play a very important role in generating demand that we will have to transport through our networks.