Reliance takes Atlantic cable to 100G

India’s Reliance Globalcom says it is upgrading its transatlantic FA-1 South subsea cable system with the help of Ciena’s GeoMesh. That will mean 100GbE with OTN support will be on tap when complete.
 
Reliance’s FA-1 North system got a low latency boost last year, taking it below 60ms between NYC and London, but that was mostly about tightening up the route from landing station to the exchanges. This upgrade targets the other half of the Flag system, FA-1 South, which lands in Plerin, France.
 
No doubt a similar upgrade to FA-1 North is also in the cards, as they recently also announced an upgrade to the FEA system with Ciena gear.
 
Reliance shelved plans to IPO its Globalcom division last summer after the markets failed to cooperate.
 
The parent company’s balance sheet pressure means they probably aren’t likely to be eager to spend on a new cable system in the Atlantic any time soon, but once you go to 100G there’s not much runway left to upgrade to at this point.
 
This article was authored by Rob Powell and was originally posted on Telecomramblings.com
 
Rob Powell is founder & editor of Telecom Ramblings, which was set up in 2008. The website is dedicated to discussing trends and developments in the telecom industry.