Madeira – Submarine Telecommunications Cable
Madeira’s Connection to the Submarine Telecommunications Cable
There is exciting news regarding the new submarine telecommunications cable. In other words, the project entered its final phase as it now connects Madeira to mainland Portugal. The cable connection from Sines in Portugal to Amparo on Madeira is some 1.100 kilometers long. The Autonomous Region of Madeira thus invested about 15.1 miilion Euros in the gigantic project. Above all, this cable provides the irrevocable rights to use dedicated fiber lines in the EllaLink for 25 years. Data transmission capacity should reach up to 30 Tbps.
EllaLink
The EllaLink cable is part of a must vaster project which connects Europe to Latin America funded thanks to the Bella programme from the EU. It will provide an unprecedented level of connectivity between the two continents. Prior to this EllaLink, telecommunications had to transit through the US. Hence it will reduce latency by 50%.
The EllaLink cable thus runs across the Atlantic from Portugal to Brazil with branches connecting Madeira and Cabo Verde. Future link extensions include the Canary Islands, French Guyana, Mauritania, Marocco and Southern Brazil.
Its aims is to increase cooperation and date sharing needs in research and education for the next 25 years.
More than telecommunication
Besides the dedication telecommunication fiber pair, a third fiber will be used to implement the EllaLink Geolab. This Geolab in cooperation with scientific networks Géant and FCT, will provide the scientific community with accurate seabed data. EllaLink is the first submarine cable to integrate “smart” information collection. It will monitor threats to the cable itself but also provide scientific data using DAS technology..
Geolab will, for example, study seismology, volcanology, marine ecology and oceanic conditions. It aims to provide real-time accurate and relevant information regarding the seabed all along the EllaLink cable route.
EllaLink is a state-of-the-art optical platform offering secure high capacity connectivity on a unique low latency diverse transatlantic route, linking the major terrestrial and subsea hubs in Europe and Latin America. EllaLink will be ready for service in 2021, providing the first-ever high capacity direct fibers between the two continents with points of presence in Sines, Madrid, Lisbon, Marseille, Barcelona, Fortaleza, Sao Paulo & Rio and onward connectivity to the USA, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Source
