Seaborn Networks: Marine Route Surveys for US-Brazil Submarine Cable Underway

Seaborn Networks announced that Alcatel-‐Lucent Submarine Networks has mobilized vessels for marine route surveys in the United States and Brazil relating to Seaborn’s US-‐Brazil submarine cable project.

These surveys are a critical step in the construction of Seabras-‐1, a new submarine fiber optic cable being built by Alcatel Lucent Submarine Networks for Seaborn Networks, the developer and operator.

Seabras-‐1 is a 32 Tbps system that will be the first direct submarine cable connecting New York to Sao Paulo. The system also includes a branch landing in Fortaleza.

“We are pleased to announce this important milestone as part of the overall implementation of Seabras-‐1,” said Larry Schwartz, CEO of Seaborn Networks. “Together with the permit acquisition work currently underway and the completion of the cable route study, the marine surveys represent excellent progress as we maintain the schedule for Seabras-‐1 to enter service in the first quarter of 2015.”

Recently released data by the Brazilian Electrical and Electronics Industry Association (ABINEE) underscores Brazil’s continuing telecom transformation. Operators invested BRL 17 billion (US$8.2 billion) in Brazil’s telecom infrastructure between January and September 2012, which almost equals the total invested for all of 2011 (and 2011 was also a record setting year). This unprecedented growth is forecast to increase by an additional 7 percent in 2013.