Optical & Fixed Networks

Global operator Sparkle and Bolivian state-owned telco Entel announced on Tuesday they have signed an MoU to create a new coast-to-coast terrestrial fibre route across Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil.

Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme solution, powered by WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e) coherent optical technology, has been successful activated across the Batam–Jakarta segment of the Matrix Cable System (MCS), a submarine telecommunications cable linking Indonesia and Singapore.

Philippine telco PLDT announced on Tuesday that three indigenous cultural communities (ICC) representing the Tagbanua in Palawan province have given the green light to a subsea cable project designed to boost the telco's network resiliency for the island.

NEC announced on Friday it has completed construction of the East Micronesia Cable System (EMCS) that will bring extra international capacity to the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Kiribati and Nauru.

Mexican carrier C3ntro Telecom and Ecuadorian telco Telconet announced on Thursday they are partnering to build a subsea and terrestrial fibre network called CSN-2 to connect data centre hubs in Mexico and Florida.

Global operator Sparkle say it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NaiTel, the telecom arm of the digital ecosystem known as Aqaba Digital Hub, and international consultancy and advisory firm iLevant, to extend the GreenMed submarine cable system through Jordan.

Venezuela’s largest private ISP Inter Venezuela is using Harmonic’s virtualised core and fibre solutions to power its nationwide XGS-PON-based mobile backhaul service.

Orange Group announced on Tuesday that it is part of a consortium of telcos and carriers that have signed an MoU to build a new subsea cable linking the UK and Europe to South Africa.

Telkom Indonesia’s international arm Telin announced on Friday it has officially launched the Pukpuk Submarine Cable System (Puk-Puk 1) that provides a direct subsea link between Indonesia’s Papua province and Papua New Guinea.

Equatorial Guinea has officially signed a construction and maintenance agreement (C&MA) to join AFR-IX Telecom’s Medusa Africa cable project, which would give the country its second international subsea link.

International network services provider RETN announced on Thursday it has launched a new end-to-end backbone route through Romania that links the Balkans to Moldova and Ukraine.

Qatar’s Ooredoo Group announced on Thursday it has signed a partnership deal with du to land Ooredoo’s planned Fibre in the Gulf (FIG) subsea cable system in the UAE.

Kenyan telco Safaricom says it has launched what it claims is Kenya’s first fibre to the room (FTTR) solution for home broadband networks in partnership with Huawei.

The EllaLink submarine cable system and Mauritania have announced the successful landing of a new subsea cable in Nouadhibou, giving the country a second direct, diverse and secure connection to European and international digital hubs.

ZTE announced on Wednesday that Dominican Republic fixed-line telco Wind Telecom has commercially deployed its Smart Cloud Platform (SCP) and intelligent home solutions that it says will deliver a better smart-home experience for residential users.

Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has approved a request to install a subsea cable landing for the TalayLink project, a regional digital infrastructure initiative backed by Google Cloud.

Telecom Namibia and Angola Telecom announced on Thursday they have signed an MoU and commercial terms agreement (CTA) to boost regional and international subsea cable connectivity along Southern Africa’s west coast.

Ooredoo and DE-CIX have connected Doha IX - Qatar’s first commercial Internet Exchange (IX) – to DE-CIX Marseille.

Millicom International Cellular, a leading telecommunications company in Latin America, has announced a long-term commercial agreement with digital infrastructure provider Trans Americas Fibre System (TAFS).

State-owned Bangladesh Submarine Cables (BSCPLC) has warned that internet services will experience slowdowns or disruptions from now until Monday due to repairs being carried out on the SEA-ME-WE-5 subsea cable.

Philippines operator Globe Telecom has joined the Candle Cable System consortium, an approximately 8,000 kilometre submarine cable system connecting Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, which is scheduled to begin operations in 2028.

According to a number of recent news reports, the government of Equatorial Guinea is considering joining the Medusa subsea cable to improve network stability.

ZTE revealed on Friday that Peruvian ISP MiFibra has commercially deployed its XGS-PON technology to boost its fibre home broadband access speeds and expand its market reach.

Ciena and Indian telco Vodafone Idea announced on Tuesday that Vi is modernizing its optical transport network using Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e) coherent optical technology running on the 6500 platform.

America Movil’s unit Claro is acquiring a 73% stake in Brazil-based broadband provider Desktop, marking a major move to strengthen its fixed-line presence in the country.

Turkcell announced that it has added a 10 Gbps option for its Superonline fibre broadband service, which it says makes it the first such broadband offer in Turkey.

Digital infrastructure operator BW Digital announced on Friday that it has successfully landed the Hawaiki Tonga subsea cable in Vava’u, giving Tonga extra international capacity as well as needed resilience.

The TAM-1 submarine cable system has reached Colombia, marking a key milestone in its rollout across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Work on the Middle Eastern segment of the 2Africa Pearls subsea cable system has reportedly stopped due to the war between the US, Israel and Iran as Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) says it’s unsafe to continue operations.

Ukrainian telco Kyivstar announced on Thursday it has purchased regional ISP Shtorm to boost its presence in the fixed broadband space. No financial details were disclosed.

NEC announced on Thursday it has won a contract from Brazilian telecoms and IT infrastructure provider Eletronet to modernize and extend its fibre backbone with optical solutions from Nokia.

Bahrain-headquartered technology company Beyon Group has been selection by the Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (KAPP) as the winning investor for the Fixed Telecommunications Network Development Project in Kuwait.