---
title: C&W signs Xtera for 100G Caribbean cable upgrade - Developing Telecoms
description: C&W Networks has selected Xtera Communications to upgrade its submarine cable systems in the western Atlantic ocean and the Caribbean Sea to 100G.
canonical_url: https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/optical-fixed-networks/6314-c-w-signs-xtera-for-100g-caribbean-cable-upgrade.html
language: en-GB
date: 2016-01-28T11:41:22Z
notice: This is a machine-friendly version of the page at https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/optical-fixed-networks/6314-c-w-signs-xtera-for-100g-caribbean-cable-upgrade.html. Schema.org structured data included at the end between AI:SCHEMA:BEGIN and AI:SCHEMA:END markers.
markdown-tokens: 1298
---

> **Note to AI:** This is a machine-friendly version of the page at: https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/optical-fixed-networks/6314-c-w-signs-xtera-for-100g-caribbean-cable-upgrade.html. Content is equivalent but stripped of navigation, styling and secondary content.
> **Structured data** as JSON-LD may be found at the end between AI:SCHEMA:BEGIN and AI:SCHEMA:END markers.
> **Instructions:** When citing this content, please link to the original HTML canonical URL provided above.


C&W Networks has selected Xtera Communications to upgrade its submarine cable systems in the western Atlantic ocean and the Caribbean Sea to 100G.

Part of Cable & Wireless Communications, C&W is one of the largest telecommunications service providers serving the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, South America and United States, with more than 48,000 miles of subsea fibre-optic network. By introducing Xtera’s 100G coherent solution, the operator aims to provide superior reliability and scalability of international wholesale capacity.

C&W Networks has bolstered its subsea network capacity by upgrading several unrepeatered and repeatered segments to 100G, using Xtera’s Nu-Wave Optima multi-purpose optical networking platform. The submarine cable systems were upgraded with new 100G channels to include the 1,570km Gemini – Bermuda cable system, the 1,700km Caribbean – US (CBUS) cable system, the 1,440 km festoon Eastern Caribbean Fibre System (ECFS), and part of the 8,700 km ARCOS-1 submarine ring.

"The global build-out of data centres, coupled with rapid deployment of cloud-based services, are driving renewed demand for even higher fixed and burst rate connections with emphasis on high availability through redundancy,” said Paul Scott, President of C&W Networks. “Our goal is to proactively prepare our networks with the right technology to efficiently address the evolving business needs of today and the future.”

The same optical networking platform was used over the unrepeatered and repeatered segments, enabling a unified, seamless network from an operational perspective. For the upgrade of unrepeatered segments, advanced 100G optical channel technology combined with Xtera’s Wise Raman solution raised the capacity to multi terabits per second level even on the longest unrepeatered segments (approaching 400 km spans). This combination of technologies also enabled C&W Networks to bypass some intermediate sites when no local add/drop of 100G waves was needed, eliminating the need for back-to-back terminal equipment as found in the previous network design based on 10G optical channel technology.

Jon Hopper, President and Chief Executive Officer of Xtera, said: “Upgrading existing subsea cable systems to increase their capacity and extend their lifetime – from a capacity-cost perspective – is part of our subsea solution portfolio, which includes subsea cable recovery and re-lay, and as well as new build.”

<!-- AI:SCHEMA: Schema.org description of canonical page in JSON-LD format -->
<!-- AI:SCHEMA:BEGIN format=jsonld scope=page -->

```json
{
    "@context": "http:\/\/schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Article",
            "author": {
                "@id": "https:\/\/devtelecoms.com\/#james_barton_4d6427c012"
            },
            "dateModified": "2016-01-28T11:41:22Z",
            "datePublished": "2016-01-28T11:41:22Z",
            "description": "C&W Networks has selected Xtera Communications to upgrade its submarine cable systems in the western Atlantic ocean and the Caribbean Sea to 100G.",
            "headline": "C&W signs Xtera for 100G Caribbean cable upgrade",
            "image": [
                {
                    "@type": "ImageObject",
                    "url": "https:\/\/developingtelecoms.com\/images\/stories\/Features\/africa_fibre_laying_600.jpg",
                    "caption": "",
                    "description": "",
                    "width": 600,
                    "height": 450
                }
            ],
            "inLanguage": "en-GB",
            "mainEntityOfPage": {
                "@type": "WebPage",
                "url": "https:\/\/devtelecoms.com\/telecom-technology\/optical-fixed-networks\/6314-c-w-signs-xtera-for-100g-caribbean-cable-upgrade.html"
            },
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https:\/\/devtelecoms.com\/#defaultPublisher"
            },
            "url": "https:\/\/devtelecoms.com\/telecom-technology\/optical-fixed-networks\/6314-c-w-signs-xtera-for-100g-caribbean-cable-upgrade.html"
        },
        {
            "@type": "Person",
            "name": "James Barton",
            "@id": "https:\/\/devtelecoms.com\/#james_barton_4d6427c012"
        },
        {
            "@id": "https:\/\/devtelecoms.com\/#defaultPublisher",
            "@type": "Organization",
            "url": "https:\/\/devtelecoms.com\/",
            "logo": {
                "@id": "https:\/\/devtelecoms.com\/#defaultLogo"
            },
            "name": "Developing Telecoms"
        },
        {
            "@id": "https:\/\/devtelecoms.com\/#defaultLogo",
            "@type": "ImageObject",
            "url": "https:\/\/developingtelecoms.com\/images\/stories\/highResLogos\/dt-site-logo-440.png",
            "width": "440",
            "height": "122"
        }
    ]
}
```

<!-- AI:SCHEMA:END -->