Launch and Inauguration of TAT-14 Submarine Cable Network - New Data-Highway between the USA and Europe The fifty co-owners of TAT-14; KDD/SCS from Japan, the project's main contractor; and the TAT-14 management teams gathered today at Deutsche Telekom's Berlin Representative Office to celebrate the inauguration and launch of the transatlantic submarine cable network TAT-14. The major investors in the system include Concert, Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, KPNQwest, Mertromedia Fiber Networks, Sprint, Swisscom, Telenor and Telia.
The TAT-14 network is a submarine cable-ring system which crosses twice the North Atlantic connecting Europe to the USA and is designed to offer a protected capacity of 640 Gigabit per second and a total transport capability of more one Terabit per second, equivalent to more than 15 Million telephone channels. TAT-14 is the first of its kind as the system will connect five European countries directly to the USA with end-to-end protected channels.
"The launch of TAT-14 comes at a very opportune moment as Internet traffic between the two major continents continues to explode," stated Mr. Gerd Tenzer, Board Member of Deutsche Telekom AG, Networks, Purchasing and Environmental Protection, hosting the event. "With the TAT-14 system, all fifty co-owning carriers will be able to offer their respective customers high quality transmission performance at the lowest cost basis on the market today."
Mr. Sheel Manchanda, the American co-chairman of the Consortium, stressed: "The 15,000 kilometer long system with four fiber pairs connects the USA-based stations in Manasquan and Tuckerton in New Jersey to the following European locations: Noerre Nebel in Denmark; Norden in Germany; Katwijk in the Netherlands; Saint-Valery-en-Caux in France and Bude in the United Kingdom. The system can handle in one second the content of more than 200 DVD disks - securing more capacity for growth in data transmission between the two major continents by doubling the activated transatlantic capacity. The total project cost is anticipated to be 10 percent lower than the original estimated cost of 1.5 Billion USD."
Mr. Kinji Iwasaki, President of KDD/SCS, also addressed the attendees and said, "It gives us great pride to be involved in a project of this magnitude, the largest contract for a Japanese supplier in the Atlantic area and to have been chosen as the submarine cable's main contractor. This contract is a milestone for our company and also underscores the trust the TAT-14 consortium has in our employees and the company's technological know-how."
The ceremony of the inauguration can be viewed online at www.tat-14.com.