Kapiti subsea cable shelved

NZX-listed telco TeamTalk has mothballed a proposal to build a submarine telecommunications cable between Kapiti and Sydney following the Government’s decision to invest public money in a new international link. But chief executive David Ware says the project could still be revived if a bid by state-owned enterprise Kordia to build an Auckland-Sydney cable falls through.

Google helping expand undersea cable infrastructure

Google is once again joining forces with foreign phone companies to help lay new undersea fiber-optic cables to bring faster Internet speeds to the far corners of the world. On Tuesday, the Web site TeleGeography reported that Google has joined a consortium to build an intra-Asia undersea cable called the Southeast Asia Japan Cable to connect Japan, Guam, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Thailand.

EA sea cable launch for June 2009

MAURITIUS-registered private equity venture SEACOM said a fibre optic undersea cable linking east Africa to Europe and Asia would be launched in June 2009, in time for the 2010 soccer World Cup. The company said it would start laying the $650m cable, which is needed to provide high-speed Internet access and spur investment, in October this year.

Botswana invests US$100 million in submarine cable project

The government of Botswana has invested US$100 million in Africa’s second biggest submarine cable project to bolster its plans to link with Europe via the east and west coasts of Africa. The East Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSY) project that runs under the Indian Ocean from Mtunzini in South Africa to Port Sudan in Sudan is currently under construction and is expected to be in operation by 2010.

New Fiber Optic Cable Station in Boca Raton keeps the Caribbean connected

Columbus Networks has completed construction of a cable landing station in Boca Raton, Fla., marking the last major step before activating an $80 million express undersea fiber optic route that connects South America with the United States via Colombia and Florida. The state-of-the-art landing station in Boca Raton is one of three along the 2,400-kilometer undersea fiber optic cable route. The other two stations are in Morant Point, Jamaica, and Cartagena, Colombia.

Africa to spend USD 6 bln on cable projects in 2 years

Spending on submarine and terrestrial fibre-optic cable infrastructure projects in Africa is expected to reach some USD 6 billion over the next two years, as countries scramble to boost international connectivity.

Glos 9,500km submarine cable project ready next year

The 9,500-kilometre submarine telecommunications cable being laid by Globacom to connect Africa with Europe and the United States is nearing completion. A statement on Tuesday by the company said the Group Chief Operating Officer of Globacom, Mr. Mohammed Jameel, made this disclosure in Accra, Ghana at a press conference where the GSM licence won by the company was formally presented by the country’s National Communications Authority.

Areva wins contract to upgrade France-UK cable

French state-owned nuclear firm Areva has won a 70 million euro ($111.4 million) contract for work on the subsea interconnection between France and Britain, it said on Tuesday. UK power network operator National Grid and French power grid operator RTE awarded Areva a contract to enhance the reliability and reinforce the availability of the IFA 2000 cable, launched in 1986.

Cuba and Venezuela to lay undersea Internet cable

A new undersea fiber-optic cable being laid between Cuba and Venezuela will help provide high-speed Internet access to Cuban citizens by 2010. Earlier this week, Wikileaks published documents that were signed in 2006 by officials in Cuba and Venezuela describing plans for the new undersea cable that will connect the two countries.

Engineers Begin Work on GCI Subsea Cable in Alaska

GCI an Alaskan telecoms network operator in the Alaskan long-distance market, has announced today that engineers have begun to lay a new undersea fiber-optic cable in parts of the largest and northern most state. The cable will connect Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Angoon and Sitka – cities in the southeast part of the state, below the capital of Juneau – into the main backbone network and provide greater capacity and routing resilience for the Alaskan network.