The 9300km cable will run from São Paulo and Fortaleza in Brazil to Lisbon, Madrid and Marseille, initially offering 72Tbps of capacity over four fibre pairs.
Landing sites in Praia Grande (Brazil), Fortaleza (Brazil) and Sines (Portugal) have been secured with the cable due to be ready for service in 2020.
The EllaLink cable will offer the first ever direct fibre pair running between South America and Europe, according to EllaLink, a privately funded company which is set to sell capacity on the cable on a carrier neutral and open access basis.
“It gives me great pleasure to announce this significant milestone for EllaLink. Since the initial idea in 2010, interest in the route has grown significantly,” said Alfonso Gajate Chairman of the EllaLink Board. “Together with our financial sponsor Marguerite II and key anchor tenants the EllaLink team has worked alongside ASN to design a high capacity system on the most optimum marine route. Many people have contributed towards making this system real, my sincere thanks go to each of them.
“As implementation activities commence EllaLink will continue to focus on its primary objective of providing leading products and services on a Carrier Neutral and Open Access basis.”
The EllaLink system will also connect Cape Verde and the Madeira Islands as part of two separate agreements signed last year.
The cable is being constructed by ASN, which has built more than 600,000km of subsea cable systems worldwide. It is also involved in the development of a number of other cables, including SAEx, linking Asia, South Africa and the Americas.
Philippe Piron, president and CEO of Alcatel Submarine Networks said: “The start of the construction of the EllaLink system is a significant achievement in the expansion of the submarine infrastructure between Latin America and Europe. Once deployed, it will contribute to enhance trans-continental connectivity, for the benefit of the global consumer and business communities between the two continents.”
