Press Release
[Tianjin, China, August 11, 2015] Huawei Marine Networks Co. Ltd. (Huawei Marine), a global submarine network provider, today announced that it has completed upgrades on the section from South Africa to Portugal and Portugal to United Kingdom of the West Africa Cable System (WACS) using Huawei Marine’s leading-edge 100G transmission solution. With the length of the Digital Line Segment (DLS) between South Africa and Portugal beyond 11,450 km, it’s one of the longest 100G submarine links in the industry.
Commissioned in 2012, WACS is the largest submarine cable directly linking Southern Africa to Europe and is the culmination of investment by eighteen leading international operators and regional carriers. At 14,530 km in total length, WACS initially offered a design capacity of 5.12 Terabits per second (Tb/s) split among fourteen countries including: South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cape Verde, Spain (Canary Islands), Portugal and the United Kingdom.
The upgrade solutions over 11,450 km utilize Huawei Marine’s innovative 3rd generation Soft Decision-Forward Error Correction (SD-FEC) and bit interleaved technologies which guarantee the compatibility of 100 Gb/s channels with 10 Gb/s channels on the existing network, thereby optimizing the available optical spectrum.
“Our aim is to provide an advanced, stable and seamless communications network which contributes to the social and economic development of the African region,” said Vishen Maharaj, Chairperson of the WACS consortium’s Management Committee. “We are constantly working to improve the capabilities of the WACS network while maintaining an economically viable and flexible service for customers. It is our pleasure to cooperate with Huawei Marine to significantly expand the WACS network, which is a key part of this effort.”
Mike Constable, Chief Executive Officer, Huawei Marine Networks said, “With our advanced technology, Huawei Marine has achieved 100G ultra-long haul transmission and offered the WACS consortium a cost-effective solution that substantially increases and enhances network connectivity, operational efficiency and the end-user experience in these growth regions.”
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About Huawei Marine Networks Co., Ltd
Huawei Marine Networks Co., Limited (Huawei Marine) is a joint venture established by Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and Global Marine Systems Limited. Bringing together the substantial expertise of the two parent companies, Huawei Marine integrates the state-of-the-art technologies in telecommunications and 160 years of marine operations experience with a strong commitment to the development of submarine cable communication networks throughout the globe. Huawei Marine provides highly reliable, cost-effective turnkey submarine cable system solutions incorporating system design, integration and installation services with an on-going focus and commitment to customer support for network operators.
For more information, please contact: [email protected] or visit
About WACS
WACS (West Africa Cable System) submarine cable is an ultra-high capacity fiber optic submarine cable system which links South of Africa and Europe, spanning the west coast of Africa and terminating in the United Kingdom. This 4 fiber pair system with total length of approx. 16,000 km is well complemented with 15 terminal stations forming a consortium of 18 leading international telecom carriers and regional carriers.
For more information, please visit www.wacscable.com .