Bharti Airtel, one of India’s largest telecommunications companies, has successfully deployed a new submarine cable in Chennai, India. The new cable, named AAE-1 (Asia-America-Europe 1), is a 9,000-kilometer undersea cable that spans from India to the US West Coast, with a landing point in Chennai.
The AAE-1 cable is a joint-venture between a consortium of nine companies, including Bharti Airtel, China Telecom, China Unicom, Facebook, Google, Indotel (Mexico), PCCW (Hong Kong), Reliance Communications (Dubai), and Telekom Malaysia. The cable is designed to provide a high-capacity and low-latency connectivity option for carriers, content providers, and internet users along the route.
This development is significant for Bharti Airtel, as it provides the company with a direct and high-capacity connectivity to the US and Europe, enhancing its network capabilities and competitiveness in the global market. The AAE-1 cable is expected to support the growing demand for high-speed and low-latency connectivity, particularly for data centers, cloud services, and content delivery networks.
The project was launched in 2017, and the cable was laid in phases over the past two years. The landing point in Chennai is one of the two primary landing points, with the second one being in Los Angeles, California. The cable is designed to operate at speeds of up to 20 Tbps (terabits per second), making it one of the fastest and most advanced undersea cables in the world.
The AAE-1 cable is expected to play a crucial role in supporting India’s digital transformation, particularly in the areas of education, healthcare, and e-commerce. It will also help in reducing reliance on satellites for international connectivity, which is often prone to outages and latency issues. Bharti Airtel has been actively expanding its submarine cable network in recent years, with this new cable being a significant addition to its global network.
In conclusion, the deployment of the AAE-1 submarine cable in Chennai is a significant milestone for Bharti Airtel and the Indian submarine cable industry as a whole. It will provide a high-capacity and low-latency connectivity option for carriers, content providers, and internet users, supporting the country’s digital transformation and economic growth.