ITV

Category: Broadband

  • RJIL issues INR 2,000 crore 5-year NCDs

    RJIL issues INR 2,000 crore 5-year NCDs

    MUMBAI: Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), today issued INR 2,000 crore of 5 year Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs), bearing a coupon of 8.32% per annum, payable annually. The issue has been assigned a rating of AAA by CRISIL and ICRA. The proceeds of the issuance shall be utilized by RJIL for rolling out a state-of-the-art digital services business in India.

    RJIL is the first issuer outside the financial services industry in India, to raise funds digitally through the EBP route. This is also the largest debt issuance in the Indian market by any issuer since the electronic bidding platform has been mandated by SEBI for private placement of debt, effective 1st July this year.

    The transaction was fully subscribed within minutes of opening and was eventually over-subscribed with a total book size in excess of INR 3500 crores, Reliance Jio said. Key investors include the prominent asset management companies and banks.

    “We are overwhelmed by the response that we have received for our maiden issuance on the BSE-BOND platform. It reinforces the faith investors have in our next generation digital services business. The launch of the EBP platform is a significant step towards the development of market infrastructure for Indian Corporate Bond market. It will make the debt issuance process significantly more smooth and transparent for issuers as well as investors” said Soumyo Dutta, Treasurer, Reliance Industries Limited.

  • April-2016: Poor growth in wired broadband subscribers

    April-2016: Poor growth in wired broadband subscribers

    BENGALURU: Historically April seems to be a poor month in terms of wired broadband subscriber additions, if one were to go by the numbers reported by The Telecom regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).  For the month of April ended 30 April 2016 (Apr-16), TRAI has reported addition of just 70,000 subscribers (0.39 percent growth over Mar-16). TRAI data for Apr-16 shows 170.5 lakh wired broadband subscribers and 169.8 lakh for Mar-16. This growth is however much better than the numbers reported by TRAI for Apr-15, which actually saw a decline in wired broadband subscribers by 10,000 from 136.4 lakh in Mar-15 to 136.3 lakh.

    As per TRAI data, the top five players in India in the wireline broadband internet space in pecking order are the public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel), public sector Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) and You Broadband (You BB). Among these 5, only BSNL and Airtel could be termed as national players at present. BSNL, Airtel and MTNL also provide wireline telephony voice and data and mobile services while Airtel also has a direct to home (DTH) segment. ACT started off as an MSO with operations concentrated in a few major cities and towns located mainly in South India. It started internet services (ACT Broadband) a little later and has grown its broadband internet subscriber base over time, to the extent that it is quite likely the biggest private wireline broadband player in South India. You BB offers broadband operations in a few cities in Maharashtra, Gujarat the NCR region Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

    Note:(1) 100,00,000 = 100 Lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

    (2) TRAI reports indicate data in millions of numbers up to 2 decimal places. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.47 million (4.7 lakh) subscribers for You BB for July-2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages have been mentioned up to two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number.

    (3) Industry sources say that TRAI numbers in the case of ACT for May-2015 are incorrect at 0.66 million and the correct number would be 0.693 million. This paper considers the number as 6.93 lakh or 0.693 million.

    (4) MSOs’ have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger. Hathway is a case in point.

    So how much did the top 5 wired broadband players add to the growth of 70,000 subscribers in Apr-15? Just 10,000- because the net subscriber additions by the three private players of 50,000 was eroded by the loss of 40,000 wireline broadband subscribers (30,000 by BSNL and 10,000 by MTNL) by the two public sector service providers. Please refer to Fig 1 below.

    Among the top 5 players, ACT has seen the largest wireline broadband subscriber growth until Apr-16 in calendar year 2016 with 1 lakh additions followed by Airtel with 90,000. You BB stood third with 30,000 wireline broadband subscriber additions in 2016 until Apr-16. The public sector players have lost wired broadband subscribers until Apr-16 in 2016 – BSNL has seen subscribers decline by 10,000 while MTNL has lost 20,000 subscribers. Overall, the top 5 wired broadband players have added 1.9 lakh subscribers between 31 January 2016 and 30 April 2016 as opposed to the overall growth of 5.4 lakh subscribers in the country during the same period. Please refer to Fig 2 below:

    In Mar-16, the largest ever number of wired broadband subscribers were added – in absolute numbers as well as in month-over-month (m-o-m) percentage terms.  2.3 lakh wired broadband subscribers were added, with m-o-m growth of 1.37 percent in Mar-16. The combined subscription numbers of the top 5 wired broadband players also had the largest ever subscriber additions in terms of absolute numbers at 1 lakh and at 0.71 percent in terms of m-o-m growth

    At the same time, the subscriber numbers share of the top five wired broadband players in the country has reduced from 87.62 percent in Mar-15 to 83.70 percent as on Apr-16. During the same period the all India wireline internet subscriber base has grown 9.86 per cent from 155.2 lakh to 170.5 lakh. The combined numbers of the top five players have increased by less than half of that in percentage terms – by 4.62 per cent from 136.4 lakh to 142.7 lakh. The top five players have added 6.3 lakh subscribers during these 14 months, with ACT and Bharti Airtel contributing a major chunk to the growth.

    Other wireline broadband players in India

    MSOs’ in India have started providing internet services on the back of their television cable networks using Docsis technology. In general, they have started reporting double digit YoY increase in internet subscribers and revenue. The television cable players see broadband services improving their Average Revenue per User (ARPU) numbers. Three of the major MSOs and a regional MSO – Hathway, Siti Cable, Den Networks, Ortel Communications respectively whose results are available in the public domain have been showing steady growth in their broadband segment over the past few quarters. All the four have been reporting growth in average revenue per user (ARPU).

    Overall broadband subscriber numbers for April 2016 including wireless and mobile

    Overall, as per the reports received by TRAI from the service providers, the number of broadband subscribers (including wireless, mobile) increased from 149.75 million (14.975 crore) at the end of Mar-16 to 151.09 million (15.109 crore) at the end of Apr-16 with a monthly growth rate of 0.89 percent. The top five service providers constituted 83.86 percent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of Apr-16. These service providers were Airtel (39.13 million or 3.913 crore), Vodafone (28.11 million or 2.811 crore), Idea Cellular

    (23.23 million or 2.323 crore), BSNL (20.48 million 2.048 crore) and Reliance Communications Group (15.74 million or 1.574 crore).TRAI’s definition of broadband is internet download speeds greater than or equal to 512 Kpbs.

    Also read:

    ACT leads in wired broadband subscriber additions in 2016

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/broadband/act-leads-in-wired-broadband-subscriber-additions-in-2016-160426

     

  • April-2016: Poor growth in wired broadband subscribers

    April-2016: Poor growth in wired broadband subscribers

    BENGALURU: Historically April seems to be a poor month in terms of wired broadband subscriber additions, if one were to go by the numbers reported by The Telecom regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).  For the month of April ended 30 April 2016 (Apr-16), TRAI has reported addition of just 70,000 subscribers (0.39 percent growth over Mar-16). TRAI data for Apr-16 shows 170.5 lakh wired broadband subscribers and 169.8 lakh for Mar-16. This growth is however much better than the numbers reported by TRAI for Apr-15, which actually saw a decline in wired broadband subscribers by 10,000 from 136.4 lakh in Mar-15 to 136.3 lakh.

    As per TRAI data, the top five players in India in the wireline broadband internet space in pecking order are the public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel), public sector Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) and You Broadband (You BB). Among these 5, only BSNL and Airtel could be termed as national players at present. BSNL, Airtel and MTNL also provide wireline telephony voice and data and mobile services while Airtel also has a direct to home (DTH) segment. ACT started off as an MSO with operations concentrated in a few major cities and towns located mainly in South India. It started internet services (ACT Broadband) a little later and has grown its broadband internet subscriber base over time, to the extent that it is quite likely the biggest private wireline broadband player in South India. You BB offers broadband operations in a few cities in Maharashtra, Gujarat the NCR region Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

    Note:(1) 100,00,000 = 100 Lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

    (2) TRAI reports indicate data in millions of numbers up to 2 decimal places. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.47 million (4.7 lakh) subscribers for You BB for July-2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages have been mentioned up to two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number.

    (3) Industry sources say that TRAI numbers in the case of ACT for May-2015 are incorrect at 0.66 million and the correct number would be 0.693 million. This paper considers the number as 6.93 lakh or 0.693 million.

    (4) MSOs’ have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger. Hathway is a case in point.

    So how much did the top 5 wired broadband players add to the growth of 70,000 subscribers in Apr-15? Just 10,000- because the net subscriber additions by the three private players of 50,000 was eroded by the loss of 40,000 wireline broadband subscribers (30,000 by BSNL and 10,000 by MTNL) by the two public sector service providers. Please refer to Fig 1 below.

    Among the top 5 players, ACT has seen the largest wireline broadband subscriber growth until Apr-16 in calendar year 2016 with 1 lakh additions followed by Airtel with 90,000. You BB stood third with 30,000 wireline broadband subscriber additions in 2016 until Apr-16. The public sector players have lost wired broadband subscribers until Apr-16 in 2016 – BSNL has seen subscribers decline by 10,000 while MTNL has lost 20,000 subscribers. Overall, the top 5 wired broadband players have added 1.9 lakh subscribers between 31 January 2016 and 30 April 2016 as opposed to the overall growth of 5.4 lakh subscribers in the country during the same period. Please refer to Fig 2 below:

    In Mar-16, the largest ever number of wired broadband subscribers were added – in absolute numbers as well as in month-over-month (m-o-m) percentage terms.  2.3 lakh wired broadband subscribers were added, with m-o-m growth of 1.37 percent in Mar-16. The combined subscription numbers of the top 5 wired broadband players also had the largest ever subscriber additions in terms of absolute numbers at 1 lakh and at 0.71 percent in terms of m-o-m growth

    At the same time, the subscriber numbers share of the top five wired broadband players in the country has reduced from 87.62 percent in Mar-15 to 83.70 percent as on Apr-16. During the same period the all India wireline internet subscriber base has grown 9.86 per cent from 155.2 lakh to 170.5 lakh. The combined numbers of the top five players have increased by less than half of that in percentage terms – by 4.62 per cent from 136.4 lakh to 142.7 lakh. The top five players have added 6.3 lakh subscribers during these 14 months, with ACT and Bharti Airtel contributing a major chunk to the growth.

    Other wireline broadband players in India

    MSOs’ in India have started providing internet services on the back of their television cable networks using Docsis technology. In general, they have started reporting double digit YoY increase in internet subscribers and revenue. The television cable players see broadband services improving their Average Revenue per User (ARPU) numbers. Three of the major MSOs and a regional MSO – Hathway, Siti Cable, Den Networks, Ortel Communications respectively whose results are available in the public domain have been showing steady growth in their broadband segment over the past few quarters. All the four have been reporting growth in average revenue per user (ARPU).

    Overall broadband subscriber numbers for April 2016 including wireless and mobile

    Overall, as per the reports received by TRAI from the service providers, the number of broadband subscribers (including wireless, mobile) increased from 149.75 million (14.975 crore) at the end of Mar-16 to 151.09 million (15.109 crore) at the end of Apr-16 with a monthly growth rate of 0.89 percent. The top five service providers constituted 83.86 percent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of Apr-16. These service providers were Airtel (39.13 million or 3.913 crore), Vodafone (28.11 million or 2.811 crore), Idea Cellular

    (23.23 million or 2.323 crore), BSNL (20.48 million 2.048 crore) and Reliance Communications Group (15.74 million or 1.574 crore).TRAI’s definition of broadband is internet download speeds greater than or equal to 512 Kpbs.

    Also read:

    ACT leads in wired broadband subscriber additions in 2016

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/broadband/act-leads-in-wired-broadband-subscriber-additions-in-2016-160426

     

  • DataWind launches its first detachable tablet/netbook devices

    DataWind launches its first detachable tablet/netbook devices

    NEW DELHI: Expanding its leadership in the low cost internet connectivity and web access device segment, UbiSlate Tablet maker DataWind, has now introduced its first detachable devices, the new Droidsurfer Netbooks 7DC+ & 3G7+ in India.

    DataWind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli said,“The DroidSurfer Netbooks come with a sturdy detachable Bluetooth2-in-1 keyboard. With its classy slim look and strong functionality, this affordably priced Droid Surfer will surely be a game changerin theworld of technology. These are the most affordable netbooks in the Indian market and they offer the extra benefit of acting both as a tablet and mini-laptop.”

    Tuli added, “With access to billions of web pages, at no extra cost, users can take advantage of content for both education and entertainment. The web is the most powerful tool for commerce, allowing users to make travel bookings, purchase from ecommerce sites, promote their own businesses and conduct transactions. Communicate like never before through E-mail and social networking sites. DataWind’s low cost Internet-enabled products allow everyone to join the digital age. Introducing technologically advanced devices at the most affordable prices are our way of contributing to the Digital India Vision.”

    The 2G Droidsurfer7DC+ is priced at Rs 3,999 and 3G Droidsurfer3G7+ is priced at Rs 4,999.

  • DataWind launches its first detachable tablet/netbook devices

    DataWind launches its first detachable tablet/netbook devices

    NEW DELHI: Expanding its leadership in the low cost internet connectivity and web access device segment, UbiSlate Tablet maker DataWind, has now introduced its first detachable devices, the new Droidsurfer Netbooks 7DC+ & 3G7+ in India.

    DataWind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli said,“The DroidSurfer Netbooks come with a sturdy detachable Bluetooth2-in-1 keyboard. With its classy slim look and strong functionality, this affordably priced Droid Surfer will surely be a game changerin theworld of technology. These are the most affordable netbooks in the Indian market and they offer the extra benefit of acting both as a tablet and mini-laptop.”

    Tuli added, “With access to billions of web pages, at no extra cost, users can take advantage of content for both education and entertainment. The web is the most powerful tool for commerce, allowing users to make travel bookings, purchase from ecommerce sites, promote their own businesses and conduct transactions. Communicate like never before through E-mail and social networking sites. DataWind’s low cost Internet-enabled products allow everyone to join the digital age. Introducing technologically advanced devices at the most affordable prices are our way of contributing to the Digital India Vision.”

    The 2G Droidsurfer7DC+ is priced at Rs 3,999 and 3G Droidsurfer3G7+ is priced at Rs 4,999.

  • Govt defers decision on FDI for Vodafone to acquire You Broadband

    Govt defers decision on FDI for Vodafone to acquire You Broadband

    NEW DELHI: The Government has deferred a decision on a proposal for acquisition of You Broadband India Ltd by Vodafone India Ltd.

    The Foreign Investments Promotions Board had received the proposal by Vodafone for investing the entire share capital (100 per cent) of the broadband company.

    Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry on the recommendation of FIPB rejected the proposal by BMJ Group India Private Limited to expand the scope of its business activities by engaging in the business of publication of certain scientific/specialty healthcare journals/periodical in line with the original edition of foreign publication being published by its holding company that is BMJ Publishing Group Limited, United Kingdom.

    It also rejected the proposal by ExzatechSolutions Ltd for incorporating a wholly owned subsidiary in India whose main operations would be in the field of IT Sector.

    As the applicant company is situated in Bangladesh and is going to incorporate a wholly owned subsidiary company in India, it comes under approval route.

  • Govt defers decision on FDI for Vodafone to acquire You Broadband

    Govt defers decision on FDI for Vodafone to acquire You Broadband

    NEW DELHI: The Government has deferred a decision on a proposal for acquisition of You Broadband India Ltd by Vodafone India Ltd.

    The Foreign Investments Promotions Board had received the proposal by Vodafone for investing the entire share capital (100 per cent) of the broadband company.

    Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry on the recommendation of FIPB rejected the proposal by BMJ Group India Private Limited to expand the scope of its business activities by engaging in the business of publication of certain scientific/specialty healthcare journals/periodical in line with the original edition of foreign publication being published by its holding company that is BMJ Publishing Group Limited, United Kingdom.

    It also rejected the proposal by ExzatechSolutions Ltd for incorporating a wholly owned subsidiary in India whose main operations would be in the field of IT Sector.

    As the applicant company is situated in Bangladesh and is going to incorporate a wholly owned subsidiary company in India, it comes under approval route.

  • RI Networks announces broadband services ‘timbl’

    RI Networks announces broadband services ‘timbl’

    MUMBAI: RI networks Pvt. Ltd. today announced the launch of its broadband services in Delhi/ NCR market under the brand name timbl. RI Networks holds a national category ‘A’ ISP license for internet services. The company will initially focus on providing broadband services (10 Mbps and higher speeds) for Homes, Small Offices and Small Enterprise customers, and also offers Internet Leased Lines and Datacentre Services for Enterprise Customers. In the first phase, the services are being offered in Delhi/ NCR market and will gradually be offered in the rest of India, starting with key towns in the northern states. The company is looking at investing over Rs 15 crore in network deployment and brand building in FY 2016-17. The broadband services are affordably priced from Rs 550/ month onwards for a 10 Mbps connection.

    timbl offers super high speed broadband, at speeds starting with 10 Mbps, with best in class services over Fibre to the Neighbourhood (FTTN) networks, with the last mile linkage over co-axial cable or fibre.

    Key features of its broadband services are:

    • High Speeds: starting with 10 Mbps
    • Symmetrical Speeds: download and upload speed is same – a rare feature that only few can offer. Conventional Telecom Operators and MSOs can’t offer this feature on their broadband services
    • Flexible Do It Yourself (D-I-Y) Price Plans: Timbl enables customers to create their own Price Plan, wherein they can pick the speed they prefer, and the Data Limit that suits their usage through a convenient D-I-Y tool.
    • Flat Fee Plans: All plans are flat fee plans with no over-usage charges.
    • Auto-Optimal Data Limits: This unique feature lets customers pay for the Data Limit closest to actual usage. Value equivalent to the unused data limit is refunded to customers.
    • Free Router: For most areas, free router is provided with the service against a fully refundable security deposit.

    Announcing the new investment, Kapil Dev Kumar, Founder and Managing Director, timbl who has also earlier successfully set up and managed Nextra Teleservices (an ISP), and Smart Digivision (IPTV services) in the same domain said, “Users today are frustrated by limited choices, high prices and poor support when they buy Internet service. We are committed to each and every area we service by employing local people, routing our calls to local people, and offering a friendly personal touch. We are also committed to keep prices affordable and being transparent with customers about problems and issues.” He further added, “Currently timbl is available in Delhi/ NCR market, but we are planning offer our services in other adjoining states like Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh progressively.”

    In addition to baseline internet connectivity services (Broadband and Internet Leased Line), timbl also offers, in conjunction with a Data Centre Partner, a range of hosting, networking and application services that empower small & large enterprises to derive better operating efficiencies – more secure, better uptimes, lesser operating efforts, and reduced total cost of ownership – for their network and application assets. The Offerings include:

    • Data centre Collocation
    • Hosted IT Infrastructure: Dedicated Private Servers, Managed Firewall, Load Balancing, Backup And Storage
    • Cloud services: Virtual Private Servers, Email Solutions (Exchange, Linux email)
    • Disaster Recovery (DR) Services
    • Managed Services: 24×7 Infrastructure Monitoring, Management of OS/ DB/ Network & App
    • Managed Network Security Services
    • Campus Wi-Fi with Managed Authentication and Billing
    • Surveillance Solutions

  • RI Networks announces broadband services ‘timbl’

    RI Networks announces broadband services ‘timbl’

    MUMBAI: RI networks Pvt. Ltd. today announced the launch of its broadband services in Delhi/ NCR market under the brand name timbl. RI Networks holds a national category ‘A’ ISP license for internet services. The company will initially focus on providing broadband services (10 Mbps and higher speeds) for Homes, Small Offices and Small Enterprise customers, and also offers Internet Leased Lines and Datacentre Services for Enterprise Customers. In the first phase, the services are being offered in Delhi/ NCR market and will gradually be offered in the rest of India, starting with key towns in the northern states. The company is looking at investing over Rs 15 crore in network deployment and brand building in FY 2016-17. The broadband services are affordably priced from Rs 550/ month onwards for a 10 Mbps connection.

    timbl offers super high speed broadband, at speeds starting with 10 Mbps, with best in class services over Fibre to the Neighbourhood (FTTN) networks, with the last mile linkage over co-axial cable or fibre.

    Key features of its broadband services are:

    • High Speeds: starting with 10 Mbps
    • Symmetrical Speeds: download and upload speed is same – a rare feature that only few can offer. Conventional Telecom Operators and MSOs can’t offer this feature on their broadband services
    • Flexible Do It Yourself (D-I-Y) Price Plans: Timbl enables customers to create their own Price Plan, wherein they can pick the speed they prefer, and the Data Limit that suits their usage through a convenient D-I-Y tool.
    • Flat Fee Plans: All plans are flat fee plans with no over-usage charges.
    • Auto-Optimal Data Limits: This unique feature lets customers pay for the Data Limit closest to actual usage. Value equivalent to the unused data limit is refunded to customers.
    • Free Router: For most areas, free router is provided with the service against a fully refundable security deposit.

    Announcing the new investment, Kapil Dev Kumar, Founder and Managing Director, timbl who has also earlier successfully set up and managed Nextra Teleservices (an ISP), and Smart Digivision (IPTV services) in the same domain said, “Users today are frustrated by limited choices, high prices and poor support when they buy Internet service. We are committed to each and every area we service by employing local people, routing our calls to local people, and offering a friendly personal touch. We are also committed to keep prices affordable and being transparent with customers about problems and issues.” He further added, “Currently timbl is available in Delhi/ NCR market, but we are planning offer our services in other adjoining states like Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh progressively.”

    In addition to baseline internet connectivity services (Broadband and Internet Leased Line), timbl also offers, in conjunction with a Data Centre Partner, a range of hosting, networking and application services that empower small & large enterprises to derive better operating efficiencies – more secure, better uptimes, lesser operating efforts, and reduced total cost of ownership – for their network and application assets. The Offerings include:

    • Data centre Collocation
    • Hosted IT Infrastructure: Dedicated Private Servers, Managed Firewall, Load Balancing, Backup And Storage
    • Cloud services: Virtual Private Servers, Email Solutions (Exchange, Linux email)
    • Disaster Recovery (DR) Services
    • Managed Services: 24×7 Infrastructure Monitoring, Management of OS/ DB/ Network & App
    • Managed Network Security Services
    • Campus Wi-Fi with Managed Authentication and Billing
    • Surveillance Solutions

  • Microsoft and Facebook to build an innovative new subsea cable across the Atlantic Ocean

    Microsoft and Facebook to build an innovative new subsea cable across the Atlantic Ocean

    MENLO PARK, Calif. and REDMOND, Wash., May 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ –Today, Microsoft (NASDAQ “MSFT” @microsoft) and Facebook(NASDAQ:FB) announced an agreement to build a new, state-of-the-art subsea cable across the Atlantic. The new “MAREA” cable will help meet the growing customer demand for high speed, reliable connections for cloud and online services for Microsoft, Facebook and their customers. The parties have cleared conditions to go Contract-In-Force (CIF) with their plans, and construction of the cable will commence in August 2016 with completion expected in October 2017.

    Microsoft and Facebook are collaborating on this system to accelerate the development of the next-generation of Internet infrastructure and support the explosion of data consumption and rapid growth of their respective cloud and online services. MAREA will be the highest-capacity subsea cable to ever cross the Atlantic – eight fiber pairs and an initial estimated design capacity of 160Tbps. The new 6,600 km submarine cable system, to be operated and managed by Telxius, Telefónica’s new telecommunications infrastructure company, will also be the first to connect the United States to southern Europe, from the data hub of Northern Virginia to Bilbao, Spain and then to network hubs in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. This route is south of other transatlantic cable systems, thereby helping ensure more resilient and reliable connections for customers in the United States,Europe, and beyond.

    Microsoft and Facebook designed MAREA to be interoperable with a variety of networking equipment. This new “open” design brings significant benefits for customers: lower costs and easier equipment upgrades which leads to faster growth in bandwidth rates since the system can evolve at the pace of optical technology innovation.

    Microsoft and Facebook are working with Telxius to build upon Telefónica’s longstanding experience in subsea cables on this innovative new system. Telxius will serve as the operator of the system and sell capacity as part of their wholesale infrastructure business.

    “As the world is increasingly moving toward a future based on cloud computing, Microsoft continues to invest in our cloud infrastructure to meet current and future growing global demand for our more than 200 cloud services, including Bing, Office 365, Skype, Xbox Live and the Microsoft Azure platform,” said Christian Belady, General Manager, Datacenter Strategy, Planning & Development, Microsoft Corp. “The MAREA transatlantic cable we’re building with Facebook and Telxius will provide new, low-latency connectivity that will help meet the increasing demand for higher-speed capacity across the Atlantic. By building the cable along this new southern route, we will also increase the resiliency of our global network, helping ensure even greater reliability for our customers.”

    “Facebook wants to make it possible for people to have deep connections and shared experiences with the people who matter to them most — anywhere in the world, and at any time,” said Najam Ahmad, Vice President of Network Engineering at Facebook. “We’re always evaluating new technologies and systems in order to provide the best connectivity possible. By creating a vendor-agnostic design with Microsoft and Telxius, we can choose the hardware and software that best serves the system and ultimately increase the pace of innovation. We want to do more of these projects in this manner — allowing us to move fast with more collaboration. We think this is how most subsea cable systems will be built in the future.”

    “Working with Facebook and Microsoft in this project will reinforce Telxius’ position as a worldwide leading infra company not only expanding on-net capabilities to Spain and the USA but also allowing us to capture market opportunities in Western Europe and new emerging routes in Northern Africa and other regions,” said Rafael Arranz, Chief Operating Officer of Telxius Cable.