The new 1,000km system will cross the Tyrrhenian Sea linking Sparkle’s Sicily Hub data centre in Palermo that currently serves eighteen international cables, with Genoa’s new open cable landing station, which is connected to Milan’s digital ecosystem.
“The investment on the deployment of BlueMed and of the landing station in Genoa represents the first phase of a wider plan aimed at consolidating Sparkle’s leadership in the Mediterranean basin through the extension and enhancement of its regional backbone”, said Mario Di Mauro, CEO of Sparkle.
With an RFS date of 2020, the cable will deliver a capacity of up to 240Tbps providing advanced connectivity between the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the European mainland hubs. The new system is also set to cut latency by 50% compared to existing terrestrial cables connecting Sicily with Milan.
In addition, the company’s new open landing station in Genoa is set to become the next priority access point for other upcoming subsea cables looking for diverse entry into Europe and therefore strengthening Italy’s position as digital gateway between Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe.
Speaking exclusively to Capacity, Sparkle confirmed that the new system is 100% proprietary with further announcements on extending the cable in the Thyrrenian Sea and Southbound of Sicily likely to follow. The company also has yet to select a vendor.
