Columbus, Xtera Upgrade ARCOS-1

Bandwidth needs down in the Carribean have been growing steadily, and regional cable operator Columbus Networks has now upgraded the ARCOS-1 cable system.  Columbus has deployed additional Xtera gear to upgrade capacity on the repeatered segments, whereas they had already done so in 2008 for the unrepeatered segments. From the map, I’d guess the repeatered segments would be between Florida and the Yucatan and between Curacao and Puerto Rico. The upgrade thereby homogenizes the equipment across the system, making it easier to manage.

The ARCOS-1 system covers 8,600km in a loop from Florida to Central America to the northern coast of South America, and back up through the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas, stopping in a couple dozen ports along the way. The cable first went into service in stages back in 2001 and 2002.  Traffic has been booming throughout the region and not just passing through to Brazil.  Hence, it’s no surprise that Columbus feels the need to beef up its capacity.  I wonder when they’ll feel the 100Gbps urge — not for a while yet I’m sure, but eventually!

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Categories: Telecom Equipment · Undersea cables