Alcatel undertakes the Australian-American NEXT submarine cable system

Southern Cross Cable and Alcatel Submarine Networks signed a contract to begin construction of Southern Cross Cable's NEXT submarine cable system
.

The transaction ensures that the manufacturing and construction phase of the project is about to begin, and Alcatel offers the cable technology
based on the open cable architecture.

The $350 million project will provide Southern Cross customers with an additional 72 Tbits/s capacity, adding to the existing 20 T-bit/s capacity
of the current Southern Cross system.

Southern Cross Cable says that when completed in 2021, NEXT will be the largest capacity, lowest latency connection point path
between the West Coast of the United States and Sydney and Auckland.

It will also provide critical interconnection infrastructure for the South Pacific, a reliable direct information channel connecting Fiji, Tokelau and Kiribati, and more options
for existing submarine cable systems from Vanuatu, Samoa and Tonga to Southern Cross.

The solution is designed to provide enhanced reliability and network efficiency, as well as the lowest latency connectivity
between major data centers in Sydney or Auckland and Los America.

The system will also provide a full fibre connection to Auckland, New Zealand, and will use branch and OADM technology to connect Fiji, Tokelau and Kiribati
.