A brand new subsea cable has splashed down in the tropical climes of the Caribbean, bringing much-needed fresh connectivity to the region. There, the 2,100km Deep Blue One cable has just launched, connecting French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago, and offering a minimum of 12Tbps of capacity per fibre pair.
Having started the build in mid-2023, Southern Caribbean Fiber (SCF), part of the Digicel Group, has also rebranded to Deep Blue to reflect its changing position in the market. The 100% privately owned cable, on which the company has worked closely with Orange, promises to bring extra resiliency to the region.
It will also help to fulfil modern capacity needs, drive the attraction of the market for big content players, and provide crucial connections for the oil and gas industry amid the sector’s local boom.
Growing needs
“In the markets that Deep Blue One will connect to, there’s a need for redundancy because capacity requirements continue to increase,” says Miguel Vervaet, group director of international business and wholesale at Digicel Group.
He adds that various cables in the Caribbean are nearing the end of their lifecycle, with some having been around for 20 years or longer. “We see that there’s a big demand and an opportunity to supercharge connectivity in the region,” says Vervaet. “We want to give everybody the access to a digital-lifecycle experience.”
Vervaet cites estimates from the International Telecommunication Union that a 10% increase in fixed broadband penetration can lead to a 2% rise in GDP per capita in the Americas.
Alasdair Wilkie, CTO marine at Digicel Group, meanwhile, highlights the need for alternative cables by pointing to the communications blackout in Anguilla last year, after the anchor of a mega-yacht damaged a subsea cable running to the islands. “Obviously, we have natural disasters that come through and might remove connectivity from some of the islands quite quickly,” adds Wilkie.
Fresh energy
Furthermore, Wilkie emphasises the significant benefits that the cable will bring to the region’s oil and gas industry, taking into account the capabilities opened up by IoT. During the rollout, some extra branching parts of the network have also been added to further boost prospects for the industry.
Wilkie points out that some platforms in the Caribbean are well over 100km offshore and that satellite broadband alone is no longer enough to fulfil needs. The cable will therefore open up opportunities for remote monitoring through the use of multiple sensors, reducing the demand for manpower.
“Companies are trying to automate these platforms as much as possible,” says Wilkie. “Manpower is expensive and risky, and taking people out to these platforms is very expensive.” These IoT capabilities are also attractive for uses such as connected cars.
The cable, which connects to the existing SCF network from Trinidad to Puerto Rico, has already attracted the attention of a variety of players, says Vervaet.
“Communications players, oil and gas companies, local ISPs and governments have shown an interest in the cable and moved to sign up for capacity. We expect this to ramp up very quickly,” he says. “We’re also completely neutral, so we don’t serve only Digicel and Orange – we want to create the best experience for customers.”
Brand refresh
Meanwhile, SCF’s rebrand as Deep Blue reflects the company’s expansion to the wider Caribbean and Latin America region, and the recognition that the cable has gained since it was conceived a decade ago. “It’s now a well-known name in the subsea markets in the region, so it matches the evolution of the company,” says Vervaet.
The newly rebranded Deep Blue ultimately wants to spur superfast access in the region and transform remaining legacy networks to fibre, helping drive the region’s economic growth by facilitating digital internet access.
The pandemic has shown how important it is to enable connectivity for everyone, adds Wilkie. “We want to empower as many people as possible to be part of the digital world,” he says.
