Exclusive: Trans Americas mulling new subsea cable in LatAm

Trans Americas Fiber System is mulling a new subsea cable to connect the Americas in addition to its under-development TAM-1 system, CEO Julio Bran told BNamericas.

Trans Americas, which is backed by Global Telecommunications Investment and LW Subsea Holdings, launched a desktop study to assess potential routes and landing points for the TAM-2 system. The work was commissioned to IT Telecom.

“We are already doing the desktop study to go from Panama [where TAM-1 lands] to Peru. And soon we’ll be doing the marine survey too,” Bran said.

Between Panama and Peru, TAM-2 could have landing points in Colombia and Ecuador, among other countries along the route, according to the CEO. 

By getting to Peru and connecting to TAM-1 in Central America, the Caribbean and the US, Trans Americas would potentially have a near Pan-American network.

If all goes through and the feasibility and need for the new system are confirmed, Bran estimates around up to two and a half years for the cable to start operations – which would mean not before late 2026 or early 2027.

TAM-1

TAM-1, which is divided into two stretches, remains on schedule to be activated in 2025. 

All the electronics part and the cable are being manufactured by Xtera and Nexans.

Overall, TAM-1 will span 7,000km from Florida to several countries in the Americas, including Colombia, the northern Caribbean (Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands), Mexico and Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama).

Trans Americas is in the process of acquiring equipment for and building cable landing stations in Panama, Honduras and Guatemala. 

In Cancún in Mexico, the landing station will be from a partner, as well as in Costa Rica and Colombia. 

In Colombia, the cable will anchor at V.tal’s landing station and the BDC2 datacenter, inaugurated in April in Barranquilla. Trans Americas is V.tal’s first main client for the site.

Stations such as those in Guatemala and Honduras, on the other hand, are proprietary, being built by Trans Americas itself. 

“When we finish launching the cable, immediately afterwards we will start with other [landing stations],” Bran said about the second stage of TAM-1.

PORTFOLIO, CLIENTS AND NEW BUSINESSES

In parallel to the cable and the station works, Trans Americas is finetuning its portfolio of services and products to be offered to companies leasing the cable capacity, said Bran.

Three new anchor-clients are due to be announced soon for TAM-1, according to the CEO. They will add to the cable's main anchor-tenant to date, AT&T, from whom Trans Americas is also using a cable landing station in Florida.

In addition to the anchor-tenants, Trans Americas is prospecting other clients for the project. For now, all committed customers are telecom operators, said Bran, from big to small carriers.

Looking ahead, the executive sees the possibility of Trans Americas Fiber Systems entering new market segments related to datacenters. 

"We are definitely looking into datacenters, assessing potential co-investors," he said.

In a March interview with BNamericas, Trans Americas CCO Mario Montero said the TAM-1 system would cost US$300-400mn.

According to Bran, however, the final budget should be "higher than that."

TAM-1 map. Credit: Trans Americas Fiber