TE SubCom Introduces Open Cables Standard and Ocean Gateway

TE SubCom, a TE Connectivity Ltd. company and an industry pioneer in undersea communications technology, introduced today “Open Cables,” a new flexible business model that allows customers to select their preferred Submarine Line Terminating Equipment (SLTE) line card supplier to create an interoperable and complementary dry and wet plant. SubCom will continue to offer and invest in its advanced SLTE product line, in addition to the new Open Cables alternative, to provide customers with ultimate flexibility.

Available immediately, the Open Cables model provides SubCom customers greater choice and flexibility in choosing line cards while continuing to benefit from the company’s latest technology. The Open Cables model takes advantage of fundamental facts in coherent technology together with transmission properties of high dispersion fibers in undersea systems. These fundamental principles allow the wet plant to be optimized regardless of the line card provider. Purchasers now have a cost effective, comprehensive yet bespoke solution that allows for a multi-vendor supplier base for transponders. The choice of third party equipment allows the customer to leverage line cards and converged terrestrial network integration.

“There are many elements that influence our customer’s choice of line terminating equipment over a subsea network, not least of which is their existing core terrestrial network architecture,” said Mark Enright, managing director, Customer Solutions, TE SubCom. “Current technology improvement cycles for equipment are shorter than manufacturers can synchronize to. With the Open Cables model, SubCom can now provide new options to integrate our undersea cable systems into overall networks. We want to offer the freedom of choice in a line card partner while continuing to evolve our own leading edge line card products.”

In support of the new Open Cable model, SubCom is introducing the Ocean Gateway common equipment. Ocean Gateway common equipment includes a suite of SubCom supplied equipment for wet plant maintenance, operations and troubleshooting. It allows multiple vendors of third party line card equipment to interface with a single fiber. It also establishes a common access to the wet plant for upgrades for third party equipment makers.