The link will form the Western leg of a new six fiber pair, multi-terabit pan-Asian ring network. The Level 3 North Asian Cable System (NACS), connecting Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan is also being installed by Alcatel and will form the Eastern leg of the new network. Level 3 will also have three fiber pairs on the new system, which will be referred to as ‘Tiger’. FLAG Telecom’s three fiber pairs on the new system will be branded FNAL (FLAG North Asian Loop). The diverse ring system will be over 10,000 kilometres in length and will be managed and operated by FLAG Telecom.
Alcatel will provide a full turnkey network, encompassing all activities from design to installation and comprising wet and dry transmission equipment. In addition, a common network management system for both the new network and the current NACS system will be integrated to provide a single monitoring and control point for the entire cable network.
Using the existing liaisons from Japan to the US, this new submarine loop will allow high-speed connections within Asia. It will provide access to the United States via Japan, serving as a feeder in the Asia-Pacific region to carry the traffic to the most demanding countries of the region.
The total cost of the entire system is estimated to be approximately $900 million.
