PRAT Cable System Inaugurated in Arica, Chile

Government and GTD inaugurated in Arica submarine cable “Prat”, which will test fiber optic to much of the national territory

By Chilean Government Press Release
December 7, 2021

• The project will provide connectivity to the country from Arica to Puerto Montt, duplicating the capacity of data and the quality of internet with which Chile currently has, connecting historically isolated territories.

• Reducing the digital divide, minimizing the risks of disconnection before natural events and providing better conditions to the country for the arrival of future investments, are some of the benefits that the deployment of this infrastructure will bring.

Gtd, a Chilean company of telecommunications and technological solutions with more than 42 years of experience, present in Latin America and Europe, inaugurated this Thursday a submarine fiber optic cable , called “Prat”, in a ceremony realized in Arica. The technology will allow duplicating the capacity of connection, speed and transmission of data with the currently Chile account.

The Cable Prat lands in 12 cities of the country (Arica, Iquique, Antofagasta, Caldera, La Serena, Valparaíso, San Antonio, Constitución, Concepción, Puerto Saavedra and Puerto Montt) decentralizing the development and growth opportunities, by allowing the digital transformation of companies no matter what region they are in, creating a circuit of high-quality connectivity .

If one of the projects is most ambitious that they have developed in the area of ??telecommunications in the last 20 years. “We are protagonists of the development of telecommunications in Chile and follow them as a company to bring the greatest technology and the greatest service to all the corners of the country. We seek to go where no one else has done, investing in networks and infrastructure, placing at the disposal not only the best technology, but also the best customer service ”, commented Fernando Gana, general manager of the Gtd, at the inauguration of the initiative.

The cable will have a high resilience capacity, with high availability connectivity, since being buried under the seafloor, it minimizes the risks of disconnection caused by earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, floods, among others.

“The cable Prat represents an infrastructure legacy for the country, and this year we had the opportunity to go even further from our expectations by being part of the Submarine Earthquake Observation Project, POST, a study led by French experts, who do not Solidide by French experts, they found in Chile the ideal place to study earthquakes of submarine origin, but thanks to the place where the Prat cable is deployed, they have the necessary infrastructure to test a new technology, with which they hope to develop, in the future. , an early warning system that will benefit Chile and various countries around the world ”, added the general manager.

The opening ceremony was attended on behalf of the government by the Minister of Transport and Telecommunications, Gloria Hutt, together with the Undersecretary of Telecommunications, Francisco Moreno.

” We are committed to making Chile the gateway to the region, connected with different capitals of the world and capable of occupying a relevant place in the digital community. In this sense, initiatives such as the Prat cable bring us closer to this goal thanks to the deployment of more high-capacity infrastructures, a factor that differentiates us and at the same time drives innovation in our country. Chile endorsed the transformation and accepted the challenge of becoming the Digital Hub of the region. I think we are on a very good path ”, said Minister Hutt.

On the other hand, Subsecretary Moreno assured that “create the conditions and the infrastructure at the end of the position in Chile as the Digital Hub of the region has been one of our central objectives as SUBTEL. It is a strategy that is based on three very precise pillars: the installation of submarine cables that connect Chile with the rest of the world, the doubling in kilometers of fiber optic networks throughout our country and the early arrival and deployment of 5G, the fifth generation of technology on the phone and mobile services. Estos elementos son la base que nos permitirá desarrollar la economía de los datos y fortalecer, al mismo tiempo, un potente ecosistema digital que cuenta con el compromiso y la colaboración del Gobierno, la academia, los emprendedores, las compañías de telecomunicaciones y los diversos partners tecnológicos. Estamos posibilitando un incremento explosivo de conectividad y tecnología que consolidarán nuestro liderazgo en el desarrollo de las telecomunicaciones a nivel latinoamericano”.

Thus, the Presidential Delegate, Roberto Erpel, affirmed that this is “ an important investment that permits to improve the connectivity of Aricans and Parinacotenses through a modern optical fiber. Undoubtedly a joint, collaborative work between the public and private sectors that adds development and quality of life to our region . “

Gtd operation in Arica

At the ceremony, Gana added that “we had a debt with Arica and that is why we wanted to come here for this important milestone for Chile and Gtd. Today we not only inaugurated our Prat submarine fiber optic cable, but also marked the beginning of our operations in the region. Arica is the gateway to our country for almost all of Latin America, that is why we are happy to be able to arrive with the best technology and quality of service to strengthen the connectivity network of the region, both in homes and in companies in the area. . We know the importance of technology and connectivity to develop various tasks of our day to day, hence our commitment to reduce the digital divide, through the continuous development of new networks “.

More integration

La integración del Cable Prat a la red Troncal Terrestre de Fibra Óptica y de Data Centers de Gtd a lo largo de Chile, y a su vez a todos los cables submarinos internacionales, permite la creación de un anillo de conectividad digital, que nos deja en pie para atraer inversiones tecnológicas de cualquier punto del planeta y que tomarán a nuestro país como puerto de enlace hacia otros países de Sudamérica, ya que la calidad y la disponibilidad de ancho de banda supera a la de países desarrollados.

The project strengthens Gtd's position as a company connected to the world, providing telecommunications services and technological solutions to more than 290,000 residential clients and more than 25,000 business and corporate clients in four countries. With 3,000 collaborators cases, the firm created a great network, a new digital ecosystem in Latin America that competes as equals with operators worldwide. In the south, Prat joins its southern cable, adding 4,000 kilometers in length. All this forms a solid high capacity network, intact in the Fiber Optic Trunk Network and Gtd Data Centers throughout Chile.