An earthquake off the coast of Taiwan destroyed an Internet connection cable between the United States and Asia late last year. A new optical cable must be more resistant to the whims of mother nature.
Due to the cable break, a large part of Asia was completely cut off from the internet. Most of the damage was repaired after two days by rerouting internet traffic via satellites and intact cables, yet 17 major telecom companies decided to establish a new, more secure connection. The new cable runs through an area where the risks of earthquakes are small, which means that the distance to be covered is approximately 20,000 kilometers. The internet line establishes a connection between the western United States and Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Hawaii and the Philippines, among others.
Alcatel-Lucent and NEC have jointly won the contract for the construction of the $500 million connection. The roll-out of the cable has already started and the so-called ‘Asia-America Gateway’ will be commissioned in December next year.
Alcatel .’s Submarine Fiber Network