To say that the subsea cable industry is experiencing a tsunami of new cable development would not be an overstatement. New submarine cable builds either recently announced and in the planning stages or currently underway will soon traverse the Atlantic and the Pacific, connect Africa, Asia and South America, and even cross Lake Ontario to link Toronto and the U.S.
Aqua Comms DAC just announced its plans to develop CeltixConnect-2, a diverse, high capacity subsea cable system crossing the Irish Sea from Dublin to Manchester and connecting to the Isle of Man. The new subsea cable network will provide onward connectivity to New York and London through Aqua Comms’ existing transatlantic subsea cable system, America-Europe Connect (AEConnect). Designed to complement the reliability of Aqua Comms’ current Irish Sea subsea cable network, CeltixConnect-1, CeltixConnect-2 is a resilient system that will use the most advanced fiber optic technology to support the highest transmission capabilities, including 8QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation), 16QAM and beyond. Formal survey work for CeltixConnect-2 will begin at some point in the next quarter.
Aqua Comms has enjoyed significant growth since AEConnect launched in January, 2016. Sales for its transatlantic cable system are on track and Aqua Comms recently conducted successful tests of new and advanced transmission technologies that when deployed will further enhance and expand the network’s total available capacity.
These developments accompany the appointments of two new members to Aqua Comms executive leadership team. Kevin Foley is now Chief Financial Officer, while Andy Hudson has been named Chief Networks Officer.
Mr. Hudson brings to the table more than 30 years of global experience in optimizing fixed, mobile and subsea operations. In his most recent position, he served as COO of the Bermuda Telephone Company (owned by Digicel), and held operational responsibility for network planning and engineering as well as maintenance, service delivery, and data center and facility management.
Mr. Foley also has a wealth of experience in the telecom industry, as he has held previous board level and executive leadership roles with companies in the carrier, interconnect, mobile, Internet, voice and TV sectors. Before joining Aqua Comms, Mr. Foley was CFO for Cable & Wireless Barbados (Flow), a Liberty Global organization. Mr. Foley was also a Board Member of Cable & Wireless Communications Insurance Ltd., and has held other C-level roles at Cable & Wireless, including CFO, Cayman Islands and Finance Director of Carrier Services.
In addition to CeltixConnect-2, Aqua Comms is in the preliminary stages of development on North Sea Connect, which is the first modern, high capacity subsea cable system crossing the North Sea from the North East UK to Denmark. Aqua Comms also has plans to expand available connectivity to AEConnect at its point of presence at 1025Connect in Westbury, New York, a critical subsea cable launch point on Long Island. The company will soon increase the system’s footprint by opening service capabilities in Ashburn, Virginia, and at NJFX, which is a carrier-neutral colocation facility located in Wall, New Jersey.
“As we embark on the development of two new subsea cable systems, CeltixConnect-2 and North Sea Connect, the diverse global telecom experience and commercial focus that both Andy Hudson and Kevin Foley possess will become an immediate asset to our strategic vision of providing next-generation, international connectivity,” explained Nigel Bayliff, CEO of Aqua Comms. “Aqua Comms’ focus is to facilitate a superhighway to feed the digital economy, and we are intent on expanding the available capacity on our existing subsea networks by pushing the boundaries of technology, developing new cable routes, and extending the terrestrial reach of our systems to satisfy that demand.”
Aqua Comms will be at International Telecoms Week (ITW) 2017, May 14-17 in Chicago. To schedule a meeting with the Aqua Comms team, email info@aquacomms.com. To learn more about Aqua Comms, click here.