Hibernia lands historic Irish submarine cable

Hibernia will install a branching unit (BU) in its existing northern transatlantic cable that will then provide two independent routes -- one from Northern Ireland to Canada and the US and another from Northern Ireland into the UK -- so that there are diverse cable systems and a protected ring network between Ireland and the UK via London, Manchester and Southport. In addition, the submarine cable will also be linked to an international carrier hotel or telehouse facility in Coleraine, on the northern tip of Ireland, to provide further access to other service providers and Hibernia Atlantic’s new network points of presence (PoPs). Hibernia is building a terrestrial network that will link its existing communications network into the northwest portion of Ireland, reaching 13 cities, including Belfast. That portion of the network will enable Hibernia to reduce the costs of communications for those in Ireland.

The terrestrial network will be the more time-consuming proposition, Gutshall said. The service will be tested in the spring for guaranteed deployment by late summer or early fall. In the US, the network has connections in Halifax and Boston and from there to Hibernia’s network PoPs in New York, Ashburn, Va., and Atlanta.

“Hibernia is a US and Irish company – for us it is quite historic,” Gutshall said. “It will allow Belfast to get up to the 21^st century with respect to handling capacity and to attract those global companies and organizations that come into the region.”