Marea Cable Is Complete

September 22nd, 2017 by · 2 Comments

According to a blog over at Microsoft, the Marea transatlantic cable has been successfully installed.  It’s been a joint project between Microsoft, Facebook, and Telxius, and it’s taken just two years to bring to fruition.

The MAREA cable takes a more southerly route than most other cables across the Atlantic.  With landing stations in Virginia Beach, Virginia and Bilbao, Spain, the system spans some 6,600km and adds diversity to an ecosystem that was a bit spooked by Sandy’s impact on the New York metro area five years ago.  With 8 fiber pairs and the latest optical gear to power it, MAREA will start out with a theoretical capacity of some 160Tbps.

The arrival of the MAREA cable has been hotly anticipated by the fiber sector down in Virginia, and has been preceded by buildouts by many network operators to strengthen backhaul options between Virginia Beach to the data centers of northern Virginia.

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Categories: Undersea cables

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2 Comments So Far


  • thecybernerd says:

    Has anyone heard anything about the status of the Midgardsormen cable project (also landing in VA beach)?

    • Rob Powell says:

      Midgardsormen… I had to look that one up… “the middle child of Loki and a giantess named Angrboda. Odin threw it into the ocean that encircles Midgard and it eventually grew large enough to reach around the entire world and bite its own tail.” Great name for a cable, but a new one on me though I found actual references to it. I’d also be interested in hearing more about it if anyone knows…

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