Xtera Completed the Loading of Its Second Repeatered Subsea Cable System Project

Xtera Communications, Inc., a leading global provider of optical networking solutions, has announced the completion of the loading of its second repeatered submarine cable system that will be deployed within the next 2 months in the Atlantic Ocean. This new repeatered project will go live after the successful upgrade of the High capacity, Undersea Guernsey Optical-fiber (HUGO) subsea cable system connecting Porthcurno (UK), Guernsey (UK) and Lannion (France), where Xtera’s next generation wideband repeaters were inserted into the existing cable plant to increase system capacity.

The approximately 1,500 km long cable system was loaded from Nexans cable factory in Rognan, Norway with more than 10 repeaters. In addition to its small mechanical size, Xtera’s Raman-based repeater offers multiple optical transmission benefits, including wider spectrum, better noise performance, longer repeater spacing and higher tolerance to strong increases in span loss compared with repeaters based on erbium-doped fiber amplifiers.

“Following the upgrade of the HUGO system wet plant, we are now deploying a new subsea optical transmission infrastructure with our repeaters and submarine cable from Nexans,” said Stuart Barnes, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Xtera Submarine Business. “Our innovative repeater adds nicely to our portfolio of flexible solutions for building new subsea infrastructure, upgrading existing cable assets under water, or recovering and re-laying existing cable assets.”

Xtera pioneered Raman optical amplification in long-haul optical transmission infrastructure with its Wise RamanTM solution that offers unrivalled optical transmission performances, unparalleled optical spectrum and operational excellence with a seamless integration of Raman amplification into optical networks. In April 2013, Xtera launched the industry’s first opt ical wideband repeater featuring Raman amplification for long-haul subsea cable systems. The new repeater adds nicely to Xtera’s turnkey solutions for building new subsea cable systems or upgrading existing wet plant, including repeater replacement or re-lay of decommissioned cable systems.