Equinix and AquaComms to deploy transatlantic link
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Equinix and AquaComms to deploy transatlantic link

Equinix has today revealed a partnership with subsea network solution provider AquaComms for the deployment of its transatlantic fibre-optic route, America Europe Connect (AEConnect).

Due to go live before the end of the year, the 5,400km route spans Long Island, New York and the west coast of Ireland.

Equinix’s New York and London International Business Exchange (IBX) data centre campuses will serve as carrier-neutral access points for AquaComms to connect its low latency subsea cable route.

“Responding to the demand AquaComms is seeing for high capacity, high reliability connectivity between North America and Europe, we made a strategic decision to deploy with Equinix,” said Greg Varisco, chief operating officer at AquaComms.

“Their data centres in New York and London act as major international hubs for network traffic offering our customers the ability to extend existing networks or expand into new markets.”

London and New York sit as two of the top five global metros for peak international internet traffic, and the London to New York route is the second-largest international internet traffic route worldwide with multiple terabits of peak traffic.

Tim Stronge, VP of research at TeleGeography, said that the international bandwidth market is undergoing a transformation.

“The traditional dynamic by which carriers link broadband users to global networks is still a core part of the market, but on the largest routes, content companies have overtaken carriers as the biggest bandwidth consumers,” said Stronge.

“The largest content providers have become major customers of long-haul capacity as they expand their own internal networks. Increasingly, these entities have capacity requirements that exceed those of the largest carriers.”

In April this year, Equinix made strategic expansions in London and Canada.

 

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