Vodafone Signs On With Emerald Express

Emerald Networks, which is building a new transatlantic cable with a branch to Iceland called the “Emerald Express”, has added a high profile customer.  None other than Vodafone Group (NYSE:VOD, news, filings) is planning to sign a contract with the cable system for capacity. 

With its purchase of Cable & Wireless Worldwide last year, the Apollo cable means that Vodafone has plenty of transatlantic connectivity. But the Emerald Express system would be a nice complement to Apollo’s more southerly routes, and will give them big pipes in and out of Iceland of course.  It’s also another example of Vodafone’s heightened interest in its fiber network alongside all those wireless assets around the world.

Emerald Express’s Icelandic landing will be in Grindavik, and they will be building terrestrial fiber up the Reykjanes peninsula to the Reykjavík metro area and the data center alley that has been springing up there.

With the Hibernia Express cable temporarily on hold, Emerald Express now looks like it will be the first new transatlantic system in a decade.  The current projection is for it to be ready for service in about six quarters.

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Categories: Undersea cables