Unitirreno has awarded the contract to Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) for system manufacturing and Elettra Tlc for marine survey and installation services.
“We are delighted to create such a grandiose project which will strengthen the development of the Italian digital infrastructure, allowing us to be an alternative to the current hub of Marseille and provide strategic landing points for requirements from Asia and Africa," said Renato Brunetti, president and CEO of Unitirreno.
"Unitirreno, connecting Sicily with the capital by sea and with Northern Italy, will deliver additional connectivity and further enhance key synergies between Rome-Fiumicino and the green data centre that Unidata and Azimut Libera Impresa SGR will build on the same site.”
The approximately 1,030km system will connect Mazara del Vallo to Genoa, Italy with a branch to Rome. It will be the first repeatered 24 fibre pair, open cable system in the Mediterranean.
It will also boast 20Tbps per fibre pair, with a total system capacity of 480Tbps on the trunk route and 320Tbps on the branch to Rome-Fiumicino.
“We are thankful to Unitirreno and their industrial and financial partners to have selected ASN for their submarine network development," added Paul Gabla, chief sales and marketing officer of ASN.
"ASN’s state-of-the-art technology, delivered in cooperation with Elettra to the highest standards, will provide much needed additional capacity and connectivity in the Mediterranean.”
The open cable design will allow customers to select their preferred technology solution for individual fibre pairs. The system will also feature two stubbed branching units to enable future landings in Sardinia and Palermo.
Elettra is to begin survey operations later this quarter with the manufacturing of the cable and equipment already scheduled by ASN. The new system is scheduled to be ready for service by Q2 2025.
“Elettra is very pleased to have been selected by Unitirreno for the implementation of this new cable system, which will be the most powerful subsea system in the Mediterranean for the coming years," said Didier Dillard, president and CEO of Elettra.
"With our marine base in Catania and our long experience of fibre optic cables survey, installation and repair in the Mediterranean, we are probably the best positioned cable ships operator to carry out this exciting project."
