Cable & Wireless Plc, initiator of PTAT-1, the first private venture fiber optic cable across the Atlantic, yesterday announced plans for PTAT-2 (it has not actually been given a name yet), and, given the involvement of Nynex Corp and BCE Inc in its new cable television announcement, the partner on the $500m venture comes as something of a surprise – it is MFS Communications Inc. MFS is the Omaha, Nebraska builder and operator of Metropolitan Area Networks, and owner of Internet access provider UUNet Technologies Inc. The choice of partner comes as less of a surprise when one realizs that the cable alliance is aimed primarily at residential telephone subscribers where Metropolitan Area Networks are mainly for the business community. The system is expected to be in service in less than 15 months, and is claimed to be the most advanced fiber cable yet laid across the Atlantic. The system will be manufactured by Alcatel Submarine Networks SA, which will supply 7,500 miles of Synchronous Digital Hierarchy looped cable system. Cable & Wireless Marine will lay the cable, which will enable its owners to offer optical capacity from a single vendor not just from landing point to landing point but from London to New York. Capacity will be 10Gbps.
