GlobeNet Completes Construction of New Subsea Network Extension to Colombia

BOCA RATON, FL--(Marketwired - Dec 5, 2013) - GlobeNet, an international wholesale provider of submarine capacity, announces today it has completed construction on its new extension of its subsea network to Colombia.

The anchor tenant on this new express route, from its landing on Colombia's Atlantic coast to Miami, Florida, is UNE EPM Telecomunicaciones, the largest Internet provider and a leading full-service telecom operator in Colombia.

"We have a strong focus on serving the Latin America region and are committed to supporting Colombia's growth and development of its ICT infrastructure," states Erick W. Contag, President and Chief Operating Officer of GlobeNet. "GlobeNet is pleased to enter into a strategic agreement with UNE, who is pioneering 4G/LTE and IPTV deployments in their country and will benefit from unsurpassed international capacity to service their growing customer base."

The build is a direct extension from GlobeNet's existing subsea cable system connecting the USA, Venezuela, Brazil, and Bermuda and addresses the increased demand for high capacity in Colombia. This subsea extension to the GlobeNet cable system was awarded to Alcatel-Lucent and includes the Alcatel-Lucent 1620 Light Manager, which supports 100Gbps transmission and is fully equipped with advanced coherent technology. 

"The Latin America region is such a fast-growing market, spurring the need for high performance networks," states Philippe Dumont, President of Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks. "The new GlobeNet express route is designed to handle the latest optical submarine technology across the same platform, enabling seamless capacity upgrades as needed to keep up with market demand."

The build -- which was executed in record time through close collaboration between GlobeNet and Alcatel-Lucent -- also provides the lowest latency route from Colombia to Brazil and complements GlobeNet's existing ring-protected International capacity service to Colombia. The extension features a new Cable Landing Station (CLS) located in Barranquilla on Colombia's Atlantic coast. The CLS also provides open access to terrestrial providers in the country.

"The completion of the new subsea cable system allows UNE to meet its aggressive broadband Internet and 4G/LTE growth projections with the highest quality standards among its competitors," comments Marc Eichmann Perret, President of UNE EPM Telecomunicaciones.

GlobeNet's network now spans more than 23,500 kilometers connecting the Americas over the most advanced submarine technology throughout all of its routes. In addition, GlobeNet was the Gold winner in the 2013 Golden Bridge Award for the Telecom, Cable, Broadband and Voice Innovations category.

For more information on GlobeNet's award-winning wholesale telecommunication solutions, please visit http://globenet.net/products/vertical-markets/

To view GlobeNet's complete network map, please visit http://globenet.net/network/

About GlobeNet
GlobeNet provides International capacity between North and South America over its award-winning submarine cable system serving Brazil, Bermuda, Colombia, the U.S.A., and Venezuela. Covering a distance of more than 23,500 kilometers, this sophisticated submarine cable network system offers the lowest latency available between the Americas. The network links cable landing stations in Tuckerton, NJ and Boca Raton, FL, USA, with cable landing stations in Fortaleza (CE) and Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Brazil, St. David's, Bermuda, Barranquilla, Colombia as well as Maiquetía, Venezuela.

About UNE 
UNE EPM Telecomunicaciones is a wholly owned subsidiary of Empresas Públicas de Medellin that provides bundled services to more than 2.2 million households in Colombia, Spain and the United States. UNE is the leading provider in broadband services in Colombia with approximately one billion dollars in revenues, and a close second player in Pay TV and fixed telephony.

In June 2012 UNE launched commercial operations on the first large-scale 4G/LTE network in Latin America.