Optical & Fixed Networks

Connecting the Caribbean: new high-capacity cable on the way

Connecting the Caribbean: new high-capacity cable on the way

Members of the Caribbean ELIte Alliance (CELIA) consortium have announced plans for the introduction of CELIA, described as a new high-capacity ‘express’ cable in the Caribbean region connecting Aruba, Martinique, Antigua, Puerto Rico and Boca Raton in the US.

The new submarine cable will span over 3,700 kilometres and feature a minimum of eight fibre pairs, offering a minimum of 22 Terabits per second per fibre pair, and providing an initial estimated capacity of more than 170 Tbps.

The members of the CELIA consortium include local operator SETAR as the landing partner in Aruba, Orange as the landing partner in Martinique and Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) as the landing partner in Antigua. Telxius, a leading global connectivity provider, is the landing partner in Puerto Rico and Boca Raton and will also offer 24/7 monitoring and security from its network operations centres.

Alcatel Submarine Networks has been selected as the end-to-end supplier for the submarine cable infrastructure, connecting CELIA between the landing partners. The contract is already in force, including options to increase capacity and to add new landing points.

The partners say that CELIA, which is expected to go live in the third quarter of 2027, will enhance connectivity in the Caribbean region, providing high-capacity and secure data transfer and very high internet speeds with low latency to support the region’s increasing digital demand along this strategic route.

As well as helping to connect islands to worldwide data networks, the rollout will incorporate high standards for environmental protection and biodiversity preservation in both terrestrial and marine neutral habitats at every stage of the project.



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