HKT (SEHK: 6823) – DUBLIN, IRELAND / HONG KONG, January 18, 2016 – PCCW Global, the international operating division of HKT, Hong Kong’s premier telecommunications service provider, today announces its cooperation with Aqua Comms Limited, a provider of scalable, subsea capacity-based network solutions, to deliver transatlantic capacity on Aqua Comms’ America Europe Connect (AEConnect) subsea fiber optic cable system, which will enable PCCW Global to obtain additional route diversity.
With more than 52 Tbps of available capacity, the AEConnect system utilizes innovative optical technologies, including the latest technology of 130 x 100 Gbps per fiber pair.
Mr. Greg Varisco, Chief Operations Officer of Aqua Comms, said, “Aqua Comms is pleased that PCCW Global has selected AEConnect, our next-generation fiber optic cable system, to provide low latency and high capacity connectivity for its transatlantic backbone network between its New York and London Points of Presence. Offering diversity between two of its major international hubs, this highly secure and technologically advanced transatlantic system is also future-proofed against increased capacity requirements, a demand that only AEConnect, and not legacy systems, could satisfy.”
Mr. Jordick Wong, Senior Vice President, Product and Vendor Management, PCCW Global, said, “Aqua Comms’ AEConnect provides additional capacity, reliability, and security which PCCW Global integrates into its global network thereby delivering new low latency connectivity between New York and London. We are confident that the AEConnect cable system provides the upward scalability and performance necessary to satisfy our business objectives.”
AEConnect, one of the first subsea cables constructed between New York City and London in nearly 15 years, was specifically designed to meet the exponential surge in bandwidth demand from carriers, global data centers, cloud-based networks, financial services companies and content providers. Spanning more than 5,536 km across the Atlantic, with stubbed branching units for future landings, it provides the most secure transatlantic cable system in existence. The cable transverses the minimum length of shallow water along the continental shelf on both sides of the Atlantic and avoids major fishing grounds and shipping anchorage areas that are known to expose subsea cables to damage. Additional armoring and deeper burial were also obtained to further mitigate potential vulnerability.
In addition to its highly secure routing, AEConnect delivers one of the lowest latency crossings of the Atlantic, projected at a speed of 53.9 milliseconds. AEConnect arrives at an auspicious moment in the history of transatlantic communications. TeleGeography forecasts growth in data traffic across the Atlantic between now and 2021 will be 41% CAGR. a major advance upon systems built at the turn of the 21st century, it is designed as a coherent optimized system, and will therefore benefit the most from the improvements that coherent technology offers, today and into the future.
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About PCCW Global
PCCW Global is the international operating division of HKT, Hong Kong’s premier telecommunications service provider, which is majority-owned by PCCW Limited. Covering more than 3,000 cities and 140 countries, the PCCW Global network supports a portfolio of integrated global communications solutions which include Ethernet, IP, fiber and satellite transmission solutions, international voice and VoIPX services, managed network & security services and our expanding “as-a-service” solutions including OTT video and Unified Communications.
PCCW Global is headquartered in Hong Kong, and maintains regional centers in Belgium, China, France, Greece, Japan, Korea, Singapore, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. To learn more about PCCW Global, please visit www.pccwglobal.com.
About HKT
HKT (SEHK: 6823) is Hong Kong’s premier telecommunications service provider and leading operator in fixed-line, broadband and mobile communication services. It meets the needs of the Hong Kong public and local and international businesses with a wide range of services including local telephony, local data and broadband, international telecommunications, mobile, and other telecommunications businesses such as customer premises equipment sales, outsourcing, consulting, and contact centers.
HKT offers Hong Kong’s only quadruple-play experience delivering media content on its fixed-line, broadband Internet access and mobile platforms jointly with its parent company, PCCW Limited.
HKT also provides a range of innovative and smart living services beyond connectivity to make the daily lives of customers more convenient, whether they are at home, in the workplace, or on the go.
About Aqua Comms Limited
Aqua Comms Limited (Aqua Comms) is the owner and operator of the transatlantic cable AEConnect and the Irish Sea cable CeltixConnect, and was established to build, acquire or merge with subsea fiber optic cable networks to provide capacity networking solutions to the global media, content providers and IT companies. To learn more about Aqua Comms and its new transatlantic subsea cable system, AEConnect, visit www.AquaComms.com.
For more information, please contact:
Ivan Ho
Group Communications
PCCW Group
Tel: +852 2883 8747
Email: ivan.wy.ho@pccw.com
Greg Varisco
Chief Operation Officer
Aqua Comms Limited
Tel: +353 1 662 4399
Email: gvarisco@aquacomms.com
Ilissa Miller
iMiller Public relations for Aqua Comms Limited
Tel: +1 866 307 2510
Email: pr@imillerpr.com