MANTA Subsea Cable to Connect North, Central, and South America

Sparkle, Gold Data, and Liberty Networks announced that SubCom was awarded the design, manufacture, and installation of the MANTA system. MANTA is a new subsea cable system connecting Mexico and the USA with Central and Latin America.

SubCom will manufacture the fiber optic cable and other optical components for the system using Open Cable specifications, supporting up to 22 Tb/s per fiber pair (FP). All three consortium partners will access the northern portion of MANTA, connecting the USA to Mexico, and Sparkle will join Liberty Networks on the southern portion, accessing Panama and Colombia.

“We are extremely grateful to have reached this significant milestone in the realization of the MANTA subsea cable system,” said Enrico Bagnasco, CEO of Sparkle, Renato Tradardi, CEO of Gold Data, and Ray Collins, SVP of Infrastructure and Corporate Strategy at Liberty Latin America in a joint statement. “With this new infrastructure in place and operational, MANTA will address the increasing demands for high-speed connectivity while enhancing data center interconnectivity across the Americas. By providing a robust and reliable network infrastructure, MANTA will be pivotal in accelerating digital innovation, empowering businesses, and supporting the next generation of technological advancements.”

MANTA aims to improve traffic flow in the region by providing high bandwidth, low-latency routes interconnecting major data hubs in Mexico City, Queretaro, Bogota, and Panama City with the USA utilizing new landing access points in Veracruz, Mexico, and San Blas, Florida. Estimated at 5,400 km in length, MANTA consists of an up to 18FP repeatered trunk segment connecting San Blas, Florida with Cartagena, Colombia with branches to Veracruz, Mexico, North Miami, Florida, Cancun, Mexico, Maria Chiquita, Panama plus a stubbed branching unit facing the Cayman Islands for future traffic expansion.

“SubCom is honored to supply and deploy MANTA, which will provide a new reliable and resilient data route to a region that is seeing consistent demand for improved connectivity,” said David Coughlan, CEO of SubCom. “Our capabilities as an advanced technology provider, high-quality manufacturer, and safe and efficient deployment partner will all be on exhibit during this project. We look forward to delivering on the vision of the partners and making MANTA a reality.”