Orange and Setar to build new submarine cable in Caribbean

French telecom operator Orange and Dutch operator Setar have been awarded 17mn euros (US$18mn) in European Union funding for a project to build the new Celia CETC submarine cable between Aruba and Martinique. 

The aim is to connect the cities of Lamentin (Martinique, France) and Baby Beach (Aruba, The Netherlands).

The new cable will cover a total of approximately 1,888 kilometers with a 40Tbps design capacity over two fiber pairs. It is expected that the Celia CETC cable will be able to cover traffic growth until at least 2050. 

As coordinator of the project, Orange was awarded 13.2mn euros in funding, while Setar will receive 3.9mn euros. 

The submarine cable system will also land in Saint Thomas (US-Virgin Islands), San Juan (Porto Rico), Sunny Isles Beach (US), Harbor Point Antigua & Barbuda, Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and Cartagena in Colombia. Those landings will be funded by the users of these cable stations. 

The project will begin in March and is expected to be completed by March 2027.

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Dominican telecom regulator Indotel launched a satellite connectivity project in communities in Elías Piña province.

The project also includes the deployment of wireless networks and training in digital skills. 

It will benefit the communities El Hoyo, Las Lagunas, El Morro, Arroyo Grande and Billinguien.

This initiative is a public investment in infrastructure, which is being carried out through the telecommunications development fund (FDT).

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Belize has two new digital connect centers where residents can access free internet and computer services. 

The newest one is in Pomona and was supported by the Taiwanese government. 

Belize and Taiwan agreed to establish 17 technology hubs in rural areas and villages across Belize, local news outlet BNN reported. 

Last week, Belize inaugurated a new digital connect center in Valley of Peace, Cayo, in partnership with the UNDP. This center is the sixth to be launched in partnership with the UNDP, according to BBN.

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The Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (Ectel) named David Cox as its new managing director. 

He takes over as the head of the organization from Cheryl Hector Fontenelle, Ectel’s director of economics and finance, who served as acting managing director from July 2021. 

As former general counsel of the Ectel dictorate, Cox has experience in drafting telecommunications legislation and providing legal advice. 

Cox also worked as head of regulatory and government affairs for the Caribbean at Cable & Wireless and served as chairman of Caribbean telecom association Canto.