TE SubCom, along with Facebook, Google, and PLDC (Pacific Light Data Communication), announced that they will co-build the Pacific Light Cable Network (PLCN), a 12,800 km transpacific submarine cable system that will provide the first direct undersea route between Hong Kong and Los Angeles, California (USA) with ultra-high capacity transmission.

Scheduled for commercial launch in summer of 2018, PLCN will include TE SubCom’s C+L technology, according to the company, a major step forward in available cable transmission capacity that effectively doubles the available bandwidth and capacity per fiber pair over a traditional C-band-only designed system.

Reportedly, once completed, PLCN will be the highest-capacity transpacific route.

“PLCN will be among the lowest-latency fiber optic routes between Hong Kong and the U.S. and the first to connect directly using ultra-high-capacity transmission,” said Wei Junkang, the chairman of PLDC. “It is certainly gratifying that global technology companies like Google and Facebook have become co-investors in PLCN. It is a strong signal that PLCN will be trusted to address the capacity needs for internet and international communications services throughout the Pacific Rim. We envision this deployment as the initial step in PLDC’s construction of a global network.”

“PLCN will showcase the ultra-high-capacity designs and industry-leading wet plant technologies that have enabled TE SubCom to become the manufacturing partner of choice for the world’s most advanced undersea networks,” said Aaron Stucki, president of TE SubCom.