The contract also includes the construction of a new 2,100km cable brand extension to the existing EllaLink cable.
“The construction of this new submarine branch represents an important milestone for the EllaLink network mission and a confirmation of its savoir-faire to connect underserved territories,” said Vincent Gatineau, SVP of subsea infra development at EllaLink,
“This initiative will not only reinforce the French Guiana infrastructure resilience but also generate a change of paradigm for the whole Caribbean region's connectivity pattern. The EllaLink team is very proud to partner with SPLANG in such a relevant project and to have been awarded with the financial support of the CEF program."
The new subsea cable branch will land in Cayenne, French Guiana, and feature 2 fibre pairs, to be built by Alcatel Submarine Networks.
The system will use optical technologies such as a ROADM WSS branching unit, allowing direct connectivity without regeneration from French Guiana to continental Europe with an round trip delay latency of less than 80 milliseconds.
The new infrastructure will also enable direct connections from French Guiana to Fortaleza, Brazil.
"This project marks a new milestone in the SPLANG mission to serve the French Guiana population in accelerating the digital development of our territory,” added Marie-Lucienne Rattier, president of SPLANG.
“Following the fibre deployment and the satellite project, we're now securing our international connectivity in the long term, ensuring sovereignty and catalysing the economic growth of French Guiana."
The project benefits from funding under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) program, due to being so remote from Continental Europe. French Guiana is also a location of strategic importance as it hosts the launch pads for Arianne Space Rockets.
With the new link, it will be possible for French Guiana to guarantee the sovereignty of its infrastructure to the space and research industry through the presence of the CNES (Centre National d' Etudes Spatiales) and the Guiana Space Centre (European base for space research and transportation).
Through this new build, EllaLink also aims to stimulate the development of new infrastructure, including connections to the underserved Amazonian region of Brazil.
