Japan's NEC secures deal to Maya-1 cable system

Japan's NEC has won a contract to upgrade the Maya-1 submarine cable system in the Caribbean, NEC said in a statement.

 

The project entails expanding the capacity of the Caribbean submarine cable network from the current 5x2.5Gbps system to a potential 8x10Gbps capacity, to help satisfy the region's broadband needs.

 

The upgrade is being financed by the 17 operators that use the cable.

 

'One main reason for the planned upgrade is to respond to a rapid increase in the volume of communication. By more than doubling the capacity of the existing submarine cable system, multimedia information can be handled in larger amounts at a faster rate,' NEC USA's spokesperson Kazuko Andersen said.

 

Andersen could not disclose the amount needed for the investment, nor the names of the operators involved though she added that they were major carriers from countries including the US, Mexico and Colombia.

 

Originally constructed in 2000, the Maya-1 system connects seven strategic landing points including Cancún (Mexico), Puerto Cortés (Honduras), Puerto Limón (Costa Rica), Half Moon Bay (Cayman Islands), María Chiquita (Panama), Tolú (Colombia) and Hollywood (Florida, US).