euNetworks links UK and Ireland with high-count fibre cable

euNetworks has completed construction of a ultra high capacity duct and dark fibre system linking the UK and Ireland that utilises new ultra low loss fibre.

Super Highway 1 links Dublin via submarine cable to Southport, and then on to Manchester, London, and Lowestoft, directly connecting key data centres.

The company said this major investment in UK national infrastructure compliments its ongoing investment in Dublin, London and Manchester. It also delivers the first new subsea cable system (Rockabill) in the North Irish sea for some years.

Construction started in March 2019 and services will be delivered to customers in week commencing 25 November 2019. This new ultra low loss network is entirely new fibre deployment. It includes 1,000 kilometres of high fibre count cable, 340 new chambers, 239 new fibre joints, 2 new cable landing stations and 4 new ILA/PoP sites. The low loss fibre deployed on the terrestrial route is Corning SMF28 Ultra G657 fibre. Corning SMF28-ULL G654C has been used in the Rockabill subsea system.

The new subsea cable has been optimised for lowest attenuation, with a subsea distance beach man hole to beach man hole of 221km. The route follows a historically established highly reliable subsea corridor, while being diverse from other live and planned systems. euNetworks worked with McMahon Design & Management Ltd (“MDM”) to undertake the subsea build, with MDM managing the development concept, permitting, licensing  and cable lay. The shore end work at Portrane and then Southport was undertaken in July 2019 and the main lay cable works completed in early September 2019.

“Super Highway 1 is an important investment in Western European bandwidth infrastructure,” said Brady Rafuse, Chief Executive Officer of euNetworks. “Critically for our customers this network development continues our approach of delivering highly scalable, owned and operated fibre based infrastructure to support their needs.”

https://eunetworks.com/news/eunetworks-delivers-new-critical-fibre-infrastructure-in-the-uk-and-ireland/