GEORGIA, USA (CMC) — Ocean Networks, a company based in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States, has confirmed the launch of its Caribbean Express (CX) project, an 18-fibre pair subsea cable system linking the state of Florida to Panama.

The CX system will use space division multiplexing technology to connect West Palm Beach in Florida, Balboa in Panama, Cancun in Mexico and Cartagena in Colombia, with high speed, low latency fibre-optic connectivity.

The system will be designed for future connectivity options to other countries along the route.

Valued at approximately US$300 million, Ocean Networks has to date already invested significant capital in progressing the route development of the system.

This includes market analysis, permit and environmental studies and securing landing party agreements.

Concerning the funding of the project, Ocean Networks has enlisted Commenda, an Atlanta-based merchant bank that has previously worked with corporate and governmental funds, as well as US and foreign banks to privately fund projects like the Caribbean Express cable.

“The consumer demand for a new submarine cable system between Central America and the US is enormous. Traffic is nearly doubling every two years,” says John R Runningen, co-founder and principal at Commenda.

“As a result, Ocean Networks has already received significant subscriber interest from large IT and telecom customers who are anxious to expand their presence in these new and under-served consumer markets.”

According to Ocean Networks, several large corporate customers have already expressed interest in either a dedicated fibre pair or managed bandwidth as soon as CX is completed.