Fujitsu has signed the contract for the upgrade of the Japan-US Cable Network, a submarine fiber-optic cable system, with a consortium represented by seven telecommunications carriers.

The consortium includes AT&T, KDDI, NTT Communications, Qwest Communications International, Reach Global Networks, Softbank Telecom, and Verizon Business.

With this transpacific contract, Fujitsu’s FLASHWAVE S650 submarine line terminal equipment will be implemented at three landing points each in Japan and the US. The new contract for the Japan-US Cable Network will add the following locations to the regions where this series is installed: Morro Bay (California), Makaha (Hawaii), Manchester (California) in the U.S. and Mie, Chiba and Ibaraki prefectures in Japan.

The FLASHWAVE S650 series upgrades the existing systems, doubling the original design capacity of 640 gigabits per second (640 Gbps) of the Japan-US Cable Network beyond 1.28 terabits per second (1.28 Tbps), equivalent to 34 DVDs of information per second.

Along with satellite communications, submarine cables comprise an integral component of the world’s international telecommunications infrastructure. Submarine cable networks incorporate long distance optical transmission technology and play a vital role in the accurate distribution of enormous quantities of information throughout the world, using their capability for high-speed, high-capacity and high-quality transmissions.

In recent years, the submarine cable communications industry has responded to rapidly increasing traffic demands with the upgrades to existing submarine cable networks as an alternative to the deployment of the new cables. These upgrades boost line capacity by outfitting or augmenting existing submarine cable landing stations with cutting-edge optical transmission platforms.

The FLASHWAVE S650 series is at the core of Fujitsu’s upgrade-oriented equipment offerings. The FLASHWAVE S650 submarine line terminal equipment series is in use in 28 countries and areas.