Medusa subsea cable construction contract in effect with ASN

Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) and Elettra Tlc were awarded the construction contract for the Medusa Submarine Cable System. 

The Medusa subsea cable will link Morocco, Portugal, Spain, France, Algeria, Tunisia, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Egypt. The subsystem named Via Tunisia, part of the Medusa Cable, linking France and Tunisia, is cofounded by the European Union under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) program, as already announced by Orange.

At over 8,700 km in length, Medusa will be the longest cable in the Mediterranean Sea and providing enhanced North-South and East-West connectivity. The system will use state of- the-art 24-pair fiber optic Open Cable technology to meet increasing broadband requirements in the region, with 20Tb/s minimum capacity per fiber pair.

Elettra Tlc will promptly engage survey operations, while equipment manufacturing and installation are planned to span over 2024 and 2025. Orange will provide landing infrastructures in France, Tunisia and Morocco.

The construction of Medusa is funded by AFR-IX Telecom, Orange and the European Union though CEF (Connecting Europe Facilities) grants.

“We have been working for more than 3 years to reach this point and we are tremendously grateful to all those who, from early stages, supported Medusa: collaborating companies and European institutions. Thanks to the support of North African Operators, financial institutions and leading companies such as ASN, Elettra Tlc, Orange and AFR-IX Telecom, Medusa will be in service the 4th quarter of 2025,” stated Norman Albi, CEO of Medusa.

“The Medusa submarine cable system marks a major step forward in telecommunications infrastructure. ASN is honored to be at the forefront of this ambitious project, which will bring high-speed Internet connectivity and seamless communication to the region, unlocking a world of opportunities for businesses, communities and individuals throughout the Mediterranean region,” said Paul Gabla, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of ASN.

https://medusascs.com/alcatel-submarine-networks-elettra-tlc-medusa-and-orange-announce-the-beginning-of-the-construction-of-medusa-submarine-cable-system-in-the-mediterranean-sea/

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Hughes readies massive JUPITER 3 satellite for launch

Hughes Network Systems’ next gen JUPITER 3 ultra high-density satellite arrived in Cape Canaveral, Florida via an Antonov aircraft. Launch is scheduled onboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.

JUPITER 3, also known as EchoStar XXIV, is the largest commercial satellite to date.  From geosynchronous orbit at 95° West longitude, it will provide connectivity across North and South America at speeds up to 100 Mbps. Hughes plans to offer a hybrid service that leverages multipath technology to seamlessly blend satellite and wireless technologies for a faster and more responsive service than traditional satellite internet.

JUPITER 3 is equipped with 300 spot beams. Each beam carries 500 MHz or more, providing more than 1 Gbps to the VSAT users in each cell. It uses Ka-band, Q- and V-band for gateways. Hughes has 18 active gateways, each of whih transmits 11 GHz of V-band and Ka band and receives 4 GHz in Q-band. 

 JUPITER 3 was built by Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California.  

https://www.hughes.com/what-we-offer/satellite-services/jupiter-geo-satellites/JUPITER3

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DataBank to sell its five data centers in France to Etix Everywhere

DataBank will sell its five data centers in France (operating as "zColo France SAS") to Etix Everywhere, an operator with edge data centers in France and Belgium. Financial terms were not disclosed.

DataBank initially acquired the French data centers as part of the zColo transaction in 2020.

"This transaction allows DataBank to focus capital and resources on our core U.S. market," said Raul Martynek, DataBank's CEO. "With a remaining portfolio of 65+ data centers in more than 27+ markets, we remain the leading-edge data center provider in the U.S. with more facilities in more markets than any other provider, public or private." 

ETIX Everywhere is focused on Europe and South-East Asia, with 10 data centers live and more than 400 customers.

https://www.databank.com/

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Amazon adds AWS Direct Connect in Manila

Amazon Web Services activated a new AWS Direct Connect location within the PLDT Vitro Makati 2 data center in Manila, Philippines. 

The new Manila location offers dedicated 1 Gbps and 10 Gbps connections, with MACsec encryption available for 10 Gbps. This new Direct Connect location reaches resources running in the Manila AWS Local Zone—supporting applications that require extremely low latency or local data processing.

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Luxinar showcases sealed CO2 laser sources

At the upcoming LASER World of PHOTONICS CHINA exhibition in Shanghai, Luxinar will showcase its range of sealed CO2 laser sources:

• New SR x series of sealed CO 2 laser sources with high average power for high-speed applications. Luxinar is displaying the new SR 10x from its SR x 9.3µm series of sealed CO 2 laser sources, a higher average power version of the company’s established SR i series, which is ideal for high-speed applications. The range consists of SR 10x, with up to 105W average output power and 235W peak output power, SR 15x, with up to 150W average output power and 335W peak output power and the SR 25x, with up to 210W average output power and 465W peak output power.
• SR AOM sealed CO 2 laser sources with acousto-optic modulator improve edge quality in high-precision thin film cutting applications. Luxinar will also showcase the SR 10 AOM tailored to address a wide range of high-precision applications that demand minimal heat-affected zones (HAZ), such as multilayer thin film cutting for the display market and high-resolution/speed marking. The range includes SR 10 AOM and SR 25 AOM, both available at a wavelength of 9.3µm and with rated powers of 150W for the SR 25 AOM and 75W for the SR 10 AOM. The integrated acousto-optic modulator (AOM) creates optical rise and fall times of less than 1µs which minimises unnecessary heat energy during processing compared with typical pulse rise/fall times of approximately 60µs; this creates a sharper cut with a reduced HAZ.

https://www.luxinar.com

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Swisscom connects Ericsson Radio Dots over 10km fiber

Swisscom is using the Ericsson Radio Dot System to offer indoor 5G to enterprise customers within a 10 km radius, from one centralized location.

A new feature enables Swisscom to use fiber and hybrid fiber cables to deliver power and data to active indoor antennas (Radio Dots) from the Indoor Radio Unit (IRU) and extend cable reach from 300 m to 10 km. The extended cable reach that comes with fiber-based rollouts supports more flexible deployment options, including remote IRU placement in instances where it may be difficult or expensive to keep equipment locally on premises. 

The first fiber deployment was made in a Swisscom store near Bern, Switzerland. A Radio Dot was connected to a shared IRU hundreds of meters away in a central office using existing fiber infrastructure.

Mark Düsener, Head of Mobile Networks, Mobile Services & B2B Telco, Swisscom, says: “High-performing indoor 5G is key to full scale societal digitalization, and Ericsson’s new indoor fiber capabilities boost the capacity and coverage of Swisscom’s leading 5G network. With more flexible in-building deployment options, we can provide more small-to-medium enterprise customers with fast and reliable mobile connectivity, with less equipment.”

Nils Andersson, Head of Indoor, Ericsson, says: “Swisscom has been a true frontrunner in the 5G market, indoors as well as outdoors. With this latest addition to their toolbox, they can continue to expand their 5G footprint while reducing total cost of ownership and increasing operational efficiency. It’s always exciting to help our customers tap into the opportunities that the small-to-medium enterprise market presents.”

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Ericsson milestone: 10 million 5G-ready radios shipped

Ericsson noted a significant company milestone: the shipment of its 10 millionth 5G-ready radio worldwide. 

Ericsson estimates that about 50 percent of 5G traffic outside of China runs on its networks. Currently, 147 live 5G networks are powered by Ericsson, of which 25 are 5G Standalone. 

https://www.ericsson.com

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