To support its international operations, CenturyLink has tapped submarine cable provider Aqua Comms for high-capacity connectivity between the US and Europe.
Aqua Comms and CenturyLink report that they have activated two 100G waves between New York and London on Aqua Comms’ America-Europe Connect (AEConnect) subsea cable system.
One of the newest submarine systems in the world, the AEConnect cable had its final splice in November 2015 and was ready for service in January 2016. The fibre pairs were manufactured and installed by TE Connectivity SubCom while the 100G coherent optical systems were provided by Ciena.
The circuits Aqua Comms has provided to CenturyLink from New York City to London are direct with no intermediate or cable landing station regeneration. Traversing over 6,800km, the high-capacity transatlantic route also includes diverse terrestrial segments on both ends, enabling CenturyLink to connect directly to its points of presence in both cities.
‘This is a major milestone for CenturyLink’s international network. We now can control the provisioning, monitoring and troubleshooting of end-to-end connectivity between our U.S. network and any CenturyLink point of presence on our European network,’ said CenturyLink senior vice president of network planning Pieter Poll.
He added: ‘Our multinational customers require seamless connectivity to accommodate today’s key business applications and we’re confident that this new Aqua Comms AEConnect fibre optic cable system will provide an important link between two of the world’s most vital social and economic hubs.’
According to telecom analyst firm TeleGeography, transatlantic bandwidth is in high demand and the New York-to-London route is the second-largest international internet traffic route globally with multiple terabits of peak traffic.