Tuesday, February 06, 2024
Aqua Comms signed a long-term lease agreement for Trans-Atlantic subsea spectrum with Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) the high-performance network built to support scientific research, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Science and managed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for 25% of a fibre pair between New York, Dublin and London.
This agreement represents ESnet's first venture into acquiring Trans-Atlantic spectrum capacity. ESnet plays a crucial role for the Department of Energy's (DOE) research community, acting as its essential data network. It supports a vast number of scientists across all national labs, supercomputing centers, and major scientific projects, while also connecting with over 270 other research and commercial networks globally.
The deal secures a quarter-fibre-pair for 15 years, offering a dedicated 5 terabits per second (Tbps) connection. This substantial data channel is a key part of ESnet's strategy for the Atlantic, designed to handle the expected surge in data from DOE's scientific collaborations and facilities. This includes preparing for the upcoming high luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, which will significantly increase data volumes. “Scientific research has entered the exascale era, and researchers need to be able to rapidly, seamlessly, and reliably move vast quantities of data from instruments to high-performance computing facilities to their human collaborators all over the world — and back again,” said ESnet Executive Director Inder Monga.
“ESnet is committed to continuing to build a robust, redundant network ready to serve the Department of Energy’s research ecosystem now and for the long-term future.”
Jim Fagan, CEO at Aqua Comms, said, “Subsea Spectrum offers the scalability and control of dark fibre at a fraction of the cost allowing customers to plan for their long-term network needs. By working with Aqua Comms, ESNet can be confident in our expertise and leading global subsea engineering services as we continue to demonstrate that we are at the forefront of the technology supporting the needs of our customers with high-bandwidth, efficient network services.”
