Digicel Builds Subsea Cable, Improving Connectivity In Southern Caribbean

Digicel Builds Subsea Cable, Improving Connectivity In Southern Caribbean

Oliver Coughlan, Chief Executive of Digicel’s operations in the Caribbean and Central America.

Oliver Coughlan, Chief Executive of Digicel’s operations in the Caribbean and Central America.

Mobile phone network and home entertainment provider Digicel announced that it is expanding its investment in international submarine capacity with the build of the Deep Blue One subsea cable. The company has also signed a partnership agreement with Orange to extend the system from Trinidad & Tobago to French Guiana.

“With subsea fiber providing the backbone of the global economy and serving as a catalyst to economic development, our substantial investment in submarine capacity underpins our confidence in the development of the region. A great example of this is the connectivity options we will be able to provide, both onshore and offshore, to the oil and gas industries in countries like Guyana and Suriname as they capitalize on the boom in the region,” said Oliver Coughlan, Digicel Group CEO.

This project will complement Digicel’s existing Southern Caribbean Fiber network which has approximately 3,000 km of submarine cable connecting 20 islands in the Eastern Caribbean, running from Trinidad & Tobago up to Puerto Rico with onward connectivity to Miami and New York.

The cable is routed to be able to connect the many offshore oil and gas rigs and the build will include new cable landings in Trinidad & Tobago, with a new route between Trinidad & Tobago and Suriname. With cable installation beginning in mid-2023, the project is expected to complete in early 2024.

According to a company’s statement, “Orange will rely on its expertise to act as landing party in Cayenne for the French Guiana branch and to operate the cable landing station on behalf of Digicel while its subsidiary, Orange Marine, will be in charge of laying the cable.”

Peter Hobbs, Group Director International and Wholesale Business at Digicel Group, added: “As a Digital Operator serving over 13 million customers in 32 countries globally, we’re focused on driving economic opportunities for our customers. This is an exciting next phase for us – it’s about delivering quality, reliability, performance – and importantly, opportunity. We’re excited to get going on this.”

Headline photo: Submarine cables are laid using special cable layer ships, such as the modern René Descartes, operated by Orange Marine. [Wikipedia, David Monniaux]

 

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