You may have missed it, but yesterday heralded a key moment for connectivity between the UK and Ireland, as Sea Fibre Networks (SFN), the owner and operator of one of Europe’s most advanced subsea telecoms networks, starting working on the first major European subsea cable for eleven years, something that will play an important part in the telecommunications infrastructure between the two countries.
SFN arrived in Dublin yesterday to start work on the long-awaited subsea lay, costing €15m (US$19.8m). Almost all (98%) Internet traffic is carried on subsea cables and its this infrastructure that will help support the massive growth in data that’s being driven by the digital revolution.
It’s hoped that CeltixConnect, which will run the shortest possible route between Ireland and the UK, will transform the growth of the latency (speed) sensitive digital services industry, addressing many of the issues that have been facing FDI technology and financial organizations, as well as providing the infrastructure to drive Ireland’s so-called smart economy.
“CeltixConnect delivers connectivity that is a game-changer not only for business and industry, but for everyday life on the Internet, smartphones, Facebook, online gaming and cloud-based services”, says Diane Hodnett, CEO at Sea Fibre Networks. “All of these things didn’t exist ten years ago when the last cables were laid between Ireland and the UK. Demand and traffic volumes related to the Internet double every two years. Legacy networks globally are straining to accommodate the ever-increasing demand, evidenced by the massive customer interest we have experienced.”
Irish Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Mr. Pat Rabbitte T.D. added:
“Ireland’s continued success in attracting digital services foreign direct investment is dependent on its ability to deliver on the fundamentals of high capacity communications infrastructure – the most critical of which is a modern sub-sea cable capable of transporting content and data in and out of the country securely and at the highest speeds.”
Demand for high-speed fibre-optic connectivity is soaring around the world, but the business world in particular is craving faster data, with cloud computing now really coming to the fore. Throw into the equation demand for high-quality streaming from both the corporate and consumer worlds, the need for better connectivity is evident.
Running between North Dublin in Ireland, and Anglesey in Wales, the subsea network is scheduled for completion by January 5, 2012.
You can see SFN’s CeltixConnect promo video here:
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