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Evolving Operating Models and Technologies In Subsea Cable Deployment

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Evolving Operating Models & Technologies in Subsea Deployment

Working with today’s technology has created huge evolvement in learning trends and techniques to run a successful infrastructure

Gil Santaliz

CEO

October

London, UK – NJFX CEO Gil Santaliz moderated a panel of telecom leaders at Capacity Europe covering some of the most significant issues facing the industry…

    • Global conflicts and physical risks to undersea fiber
    • Exploring mentorship initiatives along with diversity and inclusion
    • The challenges — especially environmental and regulatory — in upgrading existing cable routes
    • Operating model dynamics – the influence that is exerted by the OTTs and the nuances in the execution of a consortium-led model
    • How the technological and economic models are changing in the deployment of subsea cables, in particular changes in materials in the use of aluminum, and the increasing quality of fiber copper connectivity

The Panelists:

Gil Santaliz, CEO, NJFX  (Moderator)

Panagiota Bosdogianni, CTO, OTEGLOBE

Gavin Rea, CTO, Gulf Bridge International (GBI)

Alice Shelton, Senior Consultant, Global Submarine Sales, Ciena

Carlos Dasi, CTO, Telxius

Subsea Infrastructure Targeted
In recent months, there has been a threat to the security of the critical subsea infrastructure. Recent events affecting subsea cables are leading to reevaluations of security precautions to prevent vandalism. In mid-October, a fishing trawler accidentally severed subsea cables to the Shetland Islands in Scotland. A case of vandalism disrupted telecom service in Marseilles, France.

Telxius subsea systems are unique by diverting from the other cables and landing in southern Europe. NJFX CEO Gil Santaliz asked the panelists what can there be done to protect the subsea cable systems from these threats?

“It’s a hard question. Diversity is important.” Telxius CTO Carlos Dasi said.

Santaliz added, “There are fourteen cables that are connecting the Atlantic including five brand new systems and nine legacy cables. Diversity is the most important part of having the most capacity possible. Companies like, Ciena, need to be prepared to support a hurricane in Florida that continues to Myrtle Beach. Do you have the equipment available for the other cable to pick up the capacity?”

“If you have damage, you can always move the equipment,” said Alice Shelton, Senior Consultant Global Submarine Sales at Ciena. “A lot of those cables you mentioned including TGN, FA-1, AC-1, and Yellow are all coming to the end of life. There are new systems coming across carrying increased capacity. You mention five new cables, which is not a lot of diversity, however, with all fourteen cables that give higher chance. I think there is going to be more transatlantic systems coming as those nine cables retire.”

“The economics do not allow the older cables to compete with the new cables,” Santaliz added. “How is the Mediterranean dealing with the refresh of cables?”

Gavin Rea, CTO at Gulf Ridge International, replied, “The next two or three years there will be new cables being installed that will increase diversity in the Red Sea. If anything would happen in Egypt we diversify and explore routes through Iraq and Iran to get extra diversity. We need to look at it as an industry and see how many cables are going into Marseille, luckily, we have others that give you an assortment of routes. We just announced Greece data center to Egypt, big development.”

“Is Greece going to be a big hub for cables?” Santaliz asked.

“Greece would be providing diversity when the market fails,” Panagiota Bosdogianni, CTO, of OTEGLOBE adds. “We are seeing a lot of announcements of cables entering Greece and for us being a Greek company it will attract more interest to our market. We are looking into the capabilities and the revolution of subsea cables and data centers in Crete and Athens. Greece will be the bridge point in the coming years.”

Conflicts around the world pose considerable challenges to network security, however.

“The Middle East is very challenging. You see how quickly things are moving in these countries until you find a balance. We will have to see how these political relationships will work out.  Ukraine’s situation is extremely impacting communication and has caused fiber infrastructure damage,” Rae said.

Embracing Next Gen
Capacity is striving to encourage young talent interested in the industry at round table discussions with executive leaders in telecom. Mentoring the next generation of industry professionals is extremely important to shape a brighter and more sustainable future.

During a panel at Capacity Europe, NJFX CEO Gil Santaliz posed a question about mentorship about the most important leadership characteristics and educating professionals about them.

“At Telxius, we have a mentoring program that brings out the confidence we need in people, has them think outside the box, and wants to add exciting initiatives within the business. The industry is very traditional in ways and bringing new talent can bring a fresh perspective,” Telxius CTO Carlos Dasi responded.

Siena’s  Shelton added how an initiative at  SubOptic, a non-profit for the industry, has become extremely active. “The Diversity and Inclusion Group had 15 mentees and 16 mentors that participated through the program last year,” she said. “They brought the Group back and have expanded to 25 mentors and 25 mentees this year!”

“It is a fantastic program that SupOptic has created,” Gil Santaliz added. “Our General Manager, Felix Seda, is part of that initiative alongside the PTC Advisory on working to have younger generations participate in the conference and getting a seat at the table.”

”There is a lot of history that has been forgotten, as well as a lot of experience that has been lost as people leave the industry,” says Gulf Ridge’s Rae. “The ability to question those changes, to think outside the box, and recognize that certain things must be done in a specific way is important.”

The subject drew questions and raised eyebrows regarding how to mentor the following generation and prepare for the change in the evolution of these subsea cables.

New World Cables & Challenges at Sea
Technology companies are guiding subsea cable systems toward greater market participation, with Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft serving as the main movers to connect social media networks, cloud computing, and other bandwidth-intensive tasks.

Telxius has been doing groundbreaking work and leading to the landing of a cable in Virginia Beach with high-count cables.

“You had to overcome many things to make a successful cable landing station,” said Santaliz. “What challenges did you have to overcome in developing the CLS with 3 subsea cables, that I consider new world cables today, Marea, Brusa, and Dunant?”

“The main talent is to have the capacity to get everything ready and hope the customers have the best services,” Dasi replied. “It is not just infrastructure, but there are a lot of providers that are providing the same services as capacity and colocation, etc. We have great growth in the data center market.”

The Value: Copper VS Aluminum 
Is there any innovation in subsea cables using aluminum instead of copper, besides cost?

“Aluminum is slightly cheaper, but the key point is a more stable supply source. The other point is you can use different amounts of aluminum to affect the cable. Have high resilience cable to save on the material or go a lot on the material and have low resilience but you will go a further distance. It is possible, but it needs to be proven environmentally and economically before starting a project,” Shelton added.

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About NJFX:
NJFX is a Tier 3 Carrier Neutral Cable Landing Station campus. Our colocation ecosystem has expanded to over 35 network operators offering flexibility, reliability, and security. Our Wall, NJ location provides direct access to multiple subsea cable systems giving our carriers diverse connectivity solutions and offers direct interconnection without recurring cross-connect fees

 

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Telxius teams up with NJFX to Deliver Fully Diverse Subsea Cable Connectivity Across the Atlantic and Latin America

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Telxius teams up with NJFX to Deliver Fully Diverse Subsea Cable Connectivity Across the Atlantic and Latin America

The agreement extends the Marea, Dunant and Brusa subsea cable systems to New Jersey to provide customers with enhanced diversity and seamless access to key North American digital hubs 

October 18, 2022  

Madrid, Spain and Wall Township, NJ, US – Telxius, the leading digital telecommunications infrastructure operator, has teamed up with NJFX, the carrier-neutral Cable Landing Station (CLS) colocation campus in Wall, New Jersey, to give customers on-demand access to redundant subsea cable infrastructure across the Atlantic and Latin America. This collaboration allows Telxius to provide its customers with fully diverse global solutions through submarine cables landing at or nearby NJFX and serve subsea cable restoration needs between cable systems landing at NJFX and the Telxius’ Virginia Beach cable landing station.

Telxius is now offering a direct terrestrial fibre route between its CLS in Virginia Beach to NJFX’s campus. This new, unique route is the most direct link between NJFX and Telxius VA Beach CLS, extending the capabilities and services related to Telxius’ Marea, Dunant and Brusa subsea cable systems. Customers in key hubs in Chicago, Montreal, New York, Richmond and Toronto will benefit from multiterabit capacity, a wide range of advanced services on next-generation subsea infrastructure and enhanced diverse connectivity across international digital hubs. This vital link bypasses Ashburn, VA, satisfying the requirements of customers seeking diversity from overly dense infrastructure in Ashburn.

“We are continually finding new ways to enhance the reliability and resiliency of our global infrastructure. Our collaboration with NJFX gives customers rapid access to critical infrastructure and satisfies the diversity and low latency needs of some of the most demanding customers in the financial sector,” said Gerardo Bonilla, Head of Sales at Telxius. “NJFX has a track record of supporting some of the largest players in international networking and is continually growing its ecosystem. We look forward to growing together and offering ultra-reliable global connectivity.”

Telxius’ new presence at NJFX will provide NJFX’s customers with direct access to the Telxius global submarine network consisting of over 80,000 km of high-capacity fibre optic submarine cables with diverse terrestrial backhauls. This will allow NJFX’s customers access to Telxius complete array of services Including Tier-1 IP Transit, global capacity, colocation and security solutions. Telxius’ low latency, diverse and robust Atlantic routes are powered by almost 100 PoPs in 18 countries, 25 landing stations and two communications hubs connecting to world-leading data centres. By joining the NJFX interconnection platform, Telxius and its customers gain direct, on-demand interconnection with Havfrue/AEC-2, Seabras-1, TGN1 and TGN2, providing diverse connectivity across both the Atlantic and to Latin America.

“Telxius provides customers with fresh connectivity options to crucial European digital hubs as well as Latin American markets that are expanding quickly. The ‘trusted middle mile’ of interconnected independent networks is improved thanks to our cooperation with Telxius,” said Gil Santaliz, CEO of NJFX. “It’s wonderful to see new redundancy to boost service quality throughout the Atlantic and Latin America as we work to increase uptime and lessen the effects of service interruptions. We are thrilled to have Telxius at NJFX and to be collaborating with them to provide clients with the finest services.”

Enterprise, content, media, government, and communications providers can take advantage of redundancy, decreased latency, and high-quality connectivity with fewer global points of failure thanks to NJFX. Through a physical presence and access to the Meet-Me-Room (MMR) within its Tier-3 CLS campus, NJFX ensures that each carrier network interconnection is designed and maintained with reliable architectural diversity. NJFX is home to some of the biggest and most cutting-edge companies in global networking.

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About Telxius

Telxius is a global leading digital telecommunications infrastructure operator. Our international high-capacity fibre optic submarine cable network covers 80,000 km and comprises six next-generation systems: Marea, Brusa, Dunant, Tannat, Junior and Mistral. Through our Tier 1 IP network we provide direct internet connectivity, with almost 100 points of presence in 18 countries. We also deliver a wide-ranging portfolio of capacity, colocation and security services. Thus, we contribute to creating collaboration agreements in the sector and facilitating global communications with our customers.

Colt understands today’s shifting connectivity requirements and provides agile, on-demand and secure high bandwidth networking and voice solutions to ensure enterprises can thrive. Customers include data-intensive organisations spanning over 220 cities in more than 32 countries. Colt is a recognized innovator and pioneer in Software Defined Networks (SDN) and Network Function Virtualisation (NFV). Privately owned, Colt is one of the most financially sound companies in the sector, and because of this, it’s able to put its customers’ needs at its core.

About NJFX:

NJFX is a Tier 3 Carrier Neutral Cable Landing Station campus. Our colocation ecosystem has expanded to over 35 network operators offering flexibility, reliability, and security. Our Wall, NJ location provides direct access to multiple subsea cable systems giving our carriers diverse connectivity solutions and offers direct interconnection without recurring cross-connect fees.

For NJFX media inquiries, please contact: emily@njfx.net

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Colt launches PoP at NJFX bolstering subsea connectivity across the Atlantic

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Colt launches PoP at NJFX bolstering subsea connectivity across the Atlantic

Carriers can now access Colt Technology Services through their new point of presence (PoP) at the NJFX campus in Wall, New Jersey.

October 18, 2022  

New point of presence (PoP) will connect Colt’s IQ Network in the New York metro market to NJFX, giving Colt direct access to the AEC-2 subsea cable system coming ashore at its NJFX landing station in Wall, New Jersey. The PoP will offer Colt customers alternative routes to other Transatlantic systems such as Dunant, Marea, Brusa, and AEC-1.

LONDON, UK & WALL TOWNSHIP, NJ – 

NJFX, a Tier 3 carrier-neutral Cable Landing Station (CLS) colocation campus, has today announced that Colt Technology Services, a leading global provider of agile, high-bandwidth connectivity solutions, has added a point of presence (PoP) at the NJFX campus in Wall, New Jersey.

The new PoP will give Colt customers on-demand access to redundant subsea cable infrastructure across the Atlantic to Europe. The partnership means Colt can offer enhanced options for fully diverse global solutions through submarine cables landing at NJFX.

The high bandwidth, low latency Colt IQ Network connects more than 1000 data centres and over 31,000 on net buildings across Europe, Asia and North America’s largest business hubs.

By opening a PoP in NJFX’s diverse ecosystem, Colt and its customers gain direct, on-demand interconnection with Havfrue/AEC-2, Seabras-1, TGN1 and TGN2, providing diverse connectivity across the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean.

“Since the launch of our intelligent, 400Gbps optimised Colt IQ Network in 2016, we have continued to double down on reach, security and resiliency, and this is another example of how we’re enhancing our digital infrastructure globally. Our collaboration with NJFX gives Colt customers rapid access to critical digital infrastructure and satisfies the diversity and low latency needs of some of the most demanding customers in the financial sector,” said Robin Farnan, EVP – Operations & Engineering at Colt.

“NJFX has a track record of supporting some of the largest players in international networking and is continually growing its ecosystem. We look forward to growing together and offering ultra-reliable global connectivity,” he added.

“Colt offers our customers new connectivity options to key digital hubs in Europe as well as rapidly developing markets globally. Our collaboration with Colt gives customers increased choice while enhancing the ‘trusted middle mile’ of telecommunications networks,” said Gil Santaliz, CEO at NJFX. “It is great to see new redundancy to strengthen the quality of service across the Atlantic as we help to maximize uptime and minimize the impact of service disruptions. We’re excited to have Colt’s presence at NJFX and to be working together to deliver the best possible services for customers.” 

NJFX enables enterprise, content, media, government and communications providers to benefit from redundancy, reduced latency, and high-quality connectivity with fewer international points of failure. NJFX ensures each carrier network interconnection is designed and maintained with reliable architectural diversity, through a physical presence and access to the Meet-Me-Room (MMR) within its Tier-3 CLS campus. Some of the largest and most innovative businesses in international networking have presence in NJFX.

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About Colt
 

Colt strives to transform the way the world works through the power of connectivity, taking what’s always been in its DNA to enable customers’ success. The Colt IQ Network connects more than 1000 data centres and over 31,000 on net buildings across Europe, Asia and North America’s largest business hubs.

Colt understands today’s shifting connectivity requirements and provides agile, on-demand and secure high bandwidth networking and voice solutions to ensure enterprises can thrive. Customers include data-intensive organisations spanning over 220 cities in more than 32 countries. Colt is a recognized innovator and pioneer in Software Defined Networks (SDN) and Network Function Virtualisation (NFV). Privately owned, Colt is one of the most financially sound companies in the sector, and because of this, it’s able to put its customers’ needs at its core.

About NJFX 

NJFX is a Tier 3 Carrier Neutral Cable Landing Station campus. Our colocation ecosystem has expanded to over 35 network operators offering flexibility, reliability, and security. Our Wall, NJ location provides direct access to multiple subsea cable systems giving our carriers diverse connectivity solutions and offers direct interconnection without recurring cross-connect fees.

For NJFX media inquiries, please contact: emily@njfx.net

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Experts in Infrastructure from the Data Center to the Desktop Interviews CEO Gil Santaliz

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Experts in Infrastructure from the Data Center to the Desktop Interviews CEO Gil Santaliz

Strongbow Group, Managing Director of Engagement Strategy, Barry Platzman, recently sat down with the Founder & CEO of New Jersey Fiber Exchange (NJFX), Gil Santaliz to discuss his unique perspective on global connectivity and the nuances of designing network solutions for optimal performance.

Gil Santaliz

CEO

Strongbow Group Newsletter – Summer 2022

Published on June 28, 2022

Wall Township –

BP: So Gil, can you start by giving us a primer on NJFX?

GS: NJFX is a subsea cable landing station for the North American market, located here in NJ. Unlike traditional landing stations, owned and operated by established carriers like AT&T and Verizon, NJFX is a completely neutral environment. This neutrality creates an open environment that gives our customers confidence and ensures there is no conflict of interest between operator and landlord. Over time, we have expanded our operation to include 30+ operators in a diverse hub that offers “middle mile infrastructure”.

BP: When enterprise customers buy global connectivity, do you think they understand what they are buying?

GS: Good question, I would have to say that often they do not. They certainly know the beginning point “A” and an endpoint “Z”, but they don’t understand the underlying infrastructure between those points, and over time, obfuscation only increases. At NJFX, we work with our clients in great detail to make sure they understand everything that is happening from our location to their endpoint, including cable capacity, bandwidth, others using the same path, and unique geographical vulnerabilities. In the past, an enterprise might know the specific cable they’re riding, but the underlying paths and subtending carriers are frequent blind spots for many customers.

BP: How do customers address this “blind spot”, do they see it as an issue or something they need to address?

GS: As soon as there is an outage and they realize their planned diversity is ineffective, yes there is an issue to address. Unfortunately, network operators are reluctant to share route details, due to regulatory constraints and security concerns, where operators could become vulnerable to nefarious interference with their services if they reveal too much. Only the largest enterprises who put pressure on the system are able to get access to this information under NDA, and even then, it could take 3-6 months to get the information the enterprise needs. Circuit design teams should push for a complete walk-through of the backhaul systems, hubs used and the fiber optics connecting various subsea stations.

BP: How does NJFX help its customers with this problem?

GS: At NJFX we take the time to ‘peel back the onion’ for our customers, explaining what their traditional carrier is actually buying from someone else and what they are directly providing. We then facilitate introductions to the subsea and backhaul operators, allowing our clients to reverse engineer current routes and more diverse alternatives. In some cases, we orchestrate deals front-to-back; for example, a large financial firm may take the time to understand the market and then go back to their carrier with a set of requirements and specific cables to include in their design. This is especially important for global organizations, who may require certain cable paths that avoid metropolitan hubs like London or Paris since they already have circuits in those cities. You want to limit your vulnerability and we have the insight and best practices to work with these operators when they are designing the network.

BP: Pivoting to the old adage of “Self-Healing”, is this still a term that we can or should use?

GS: I would say that term does go back 20-25 years, back to the days when carriers owned their own network infrastructure. To level set on terminology – if you owned the network, you could provide two paths: a primary and one to take over in case the first should fail… a “self-healing ring”. This has changed over the years, as carriers have become reliant on other partners, and now lack insight into underlying paths. The term self-healing is often used without understanding what it really means. More discerning buyers will purchase diverse paths from different carriers all operating in parallel, enabling them to sustain 2-3 hits on their service without being affected.

BP: Are fiber cuts trending up or down in your view?

GS: Yes, as a result of 5G deployments, carriers are opening more splice boxes on long haul and metropolitan fiber. Over the years, characteristics of the fiber in the US have changed; whereas before long haul fiber was untouchable, it isn’t anymore. And with the recent need to capitalize on existing assets, long-haul routes might experience interruptions because of 5G deployments, which are now more and more common.

BP: What about outside of the United States, are we seeing the same trends with sub-sea?

GS: Subsea is a very different animal – there are fewer outages, but when there is one, it’s bad. That is not to say that there is never an issue; despite routes being clearly marked on maritime charts, a cargo ship might hit the cable with an anchor. Nowadays, however, subsea operators have visibility into “shunt faults” – a break in the insulation of the cable – and can be proactive about repairing them before the exposed cable is hit again. But should the worst happen, you are looking at 3-6 weeks of outage depending on how prepared the operator is for repair. This is why multiple, diverse paths are critical to a resilient enterprise network. A bit of trivia for your readers here: there is an Atlantic underwater canyon called Porcupine Sea Bight with 95% convergence of transatlantic systems; an incident on that island would essentially be catastrophic, cutting off EMEA from North America. Only one system does not traverse that route – a bypass solution offered via NJFX.

BP: Any pearls of wisdom that you can offer to enterprise customers when designing global networks?

GS: Commit the resources required to understand what you are buying. We live in a world that is reticent to change, but given the time-sensitivity of applications nowadays, a 4–5-hour outage is catastrophic. Enterprises should make path supervision a part of their circuit lifecycle management process to ensure their network paths haven’t changed since they first purchased those circuits. I would also recommend adding contractual assurances to require notice of any changes to fiber in advance of the work.

Thanks very much Gil, we enjoyed hearing about NJFX and receiving the benefit of your thoughts on the evolving infrastructure – Barry Platzman

Click here to read the full Strongbow Group Newsletter

About NJFX:

NJFX is a Tier 3 Carrier Neutral Cable Landing Station campus. Our colocation ecosystem has expanded to over 35 network operators offering flexibility, reliability, and security. Our Wall, NJ location provides direct access to multiple subsea cable systems giving our carriers diverse connectivity solutions and offers direct interconnection without recurring cross-connect fees.

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GoldConnect Launches Strategic Point-of-Presence at NJFX for its LatamConnect Platform

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Orchest (foramlly GoldConnect) Launches Strategic Point-of-Presence at NJFX for its LatamConnect Platform

NJFX Welcomes GoldConnect to Our Ecosystem of Carriers

June 28, 2022  

WALL TOWNSHIP – GoldConnect, a leading US-based carrier with a presence in 17 countries in Latin America and The Caribbean and pioneer of the fully automated end-to-end customer experience through its one-of-a-kind LatamConnect Platform, announced today it has launched a new strategic network point of presence (POP) within NJFX cable landing station colocation campus located in Wall, New Jersey. This new addition will allow GoldConnect to interconnect with some of its American and European clients while providing direct low latency access to Latin America through the LatamConnect Platform.

GoldConnect wins Latam Regional Operator of the Year in Berlin
GoldConnect was recently awarded LATAM BEST OPERATOR OF THE YEAR at GoldConnect wins Latam Regional Operator of the Year in Berlin the 2022 GCCM Berlin by Carrier Community for their incredible work enabling new possibilities through their cutting-edge technology platform LatamConnect.

LatamConnect is the only platform automating the entire customer experience, providing last-mile feasibility analysis in more than 50 Million On-Net buildings, 24/7 installation tracking, service performance monitoring in real-time, and online tech support among the many incredible features it offers for its Connectivity Solutions. “NJFX is the perfect interconnection point to offer low latency solutions through our LatamConnect platform, mixing together NJFX’s ecosystem and LatamConnect, we are bringing together buyers and sellers even closer, enabling incredible possibilities through complete automation,” said Justo Valladares, CEO at GoldConnect.

“GoldConnect is providing necessary last mile transparency throughout LATAM to our ecosystem of carriers with their unique LatamConnect platform using the Seabras-1 cable system connecting to NJFX.” Said Gil Santaliz, CEO of NJFX. “LatamConnect can now use Seaborn as a gateway to bypass Florida and New York City to reach NJFX, as well as, interexchange traffic with our European and US-based providers.”

“Leveraging the LatamConnect automation, along with the performance and scalability of Seaborn’s Seabras-1 cable system, provides unique value to reach new clients in a world-class NJFX facility that drives flexibility and end-user enablement,” said Steve Orlando CEO of Seaborn.

As part of the strategic expansion, GoldConnect is also adding PoPs in Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Through LatamConnect, customers will be able to quote last miles in Latin America with new multiple delivery points in Asia. With this, GoldConnect has more than 174 PoPs facilitating connectivity through complete automation into Latin America and The Caribbean.

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About GoldConnect

Goldconnect is a leading US based carrier and pioneer of the fully automated end to end customer experience in the Latin American region. With more than 10 years delivering innovative Network Solutions, Cloud Connection and Data Center Services throughout the Americas. Over the last 3 years it has rewritten the rules of data transport and connectivity services in LATAM by providing a holistic approach to network intelligence and transparency, groundbreaking process automation, and a world-class customer engagement. The first one of its kind, LatamConnect platform allows our customers and partners to enjoy smoother, faster, and reliable access to real time network information. For more information, please visit Goldconnect.com and follow us on Linkedin

About NJFX:

NJFX is a Tier 3 Carrier Neutral Cable Landing Station campus. Our colocation ecosystem has expanded to over 35 network operators offering flexibility, reliability, and security. Our Wall, NJ location provides direct access to multiple subsea cable systems giving our carriers diverse connectivity solutions and offers direct interconnection without recurring cross-connect fees.

For NJFX media inquiries, please contact: emily@njfx.net

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Flying The Skies to Wire the Seas

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Flying The Skies to Wire the Seas

Should the Subsea Cable Industry Stop Traveling?

 

Gil Santaliz

CEO

SubTel Forum Magazine #124 – Global Capacity

Published on May

Subtel Forum Magazine – To an extent, more effective management practices around “new normal” work practices also depend on age group.

“Young people are preferring the ease of flexibility that comes with video calls while the older generation much prefers the advantages that come with face-to-face interactions,” says Felix Seda, General Manager for NJFX.

The younger generation is more accustomed to using break-out rooms for discussions and chatbox for opinion sharing or informal responses to what’s being discussed live. For the veterans of the industry, the community has been formed more actively in person, over a set of drinks, or on the golf course. And yet, as another industry member points out, “ in an era where we need to infuse ‘new blood’ into our industry, in-person meetings have a sort of On the-Job-Training benefits for new industry entrants as trainees.” When it comes down to it, the medium doesn’t alone determine success, solve a problem, create a problem, or create a community—people do. Be it face-to-face or via video conferencing platforms, many of our industry interviewees pointed out, that humans tend to bring their habits and energy

Click here to read the full article.

Click here to read this month’s issue of SubTel Forum Magazine.

About NJFX:

NJFX is a Tier 3 Carrier Neutral Cable Landing Station campus. Our colocation ecosystem has expanded to over 35 network operators offering flexibility, reliability, and security. Our Wall, NJ location provides direct access to multiple subsea cable systems giving our carriers diverse connectivity solutions and offers direct interconnection without recurring cross-connect fees.

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Flying The Skies to Wire the Seas Read More »

Felix Seda Awarded Capacity Media’s Power 100!

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Felix Seda Awarded Capacity Media’s Power 100!

Nominated by the industry and compiled by Capacity, the 2022 Power 100 profiles the trailblazers, innovators, and leaders driving the global digital infrastructure space. Now in its fourth-year, the list is who is who of the most influential people in our field.

Felix Seda

General Manager

June 13, 2022

CAPACITY EDITORIAL – Felix Seda is dedicated to bringing young talent into the telecommunication industry by spearheading several millennial-focused initiatives to encourage the education and engagement of young professionals. He created the Millennials in Telecom Reception at PTC in 2020, aimed at bringing young telecom employees together to network and engage with select industry veterans.

Felix sees value in recruiting young professionals, many are digital natives, and the unique perspective they may bring to an industry that is often dominated by veterans. The involvement and development of these fresh, young professionals will do a great deal to propel the industry into the future.

Felix is working closely with the PTC Advisory Council for young professionals to be more involved at industry conferences and secure a seat at the table where pivotal conversations shape the industry’s future. Felix is working to establish a Buy One Get One Free program that will allow nominated individuals from member organizations to attend the conference with free registration.

Aside from helping shape the future of the Telecom industry, Felix has been instrumental in growing the ecosystem at NJFX’s CLS connectivity campus. His involvement in network development helped establish new logos at NJFX such as AT&T, Eastlink, and UPIX.

View the fourth annual Power 100 in the June/July issue here.

About NJFX

NJFX is a Tier 3 Carrier Neutral Cable Landing Station campus. Our colocation ecosystem has expanded to over 35 network operators offering flexibility, reliability, and security. Our Wall, NJ location provides direct access to multiple subsea cable systems giving our carriers diverse connectivity solutions and offers direct interconnection without recurring cross-connect fees.

Media Contact:
Emily Newman, Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator
emily@njfx.net

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Nominated by the industry and compiled by Capacity, the 2022 Power 100 profiles the trailblazers, innovators, and leaders driving the global digital infrastructure space. Now in its fourth-year, the list is who is who of the most influential people in our field.

June 13, 2022 CAPACITY EDITORIAL – Felix Seda is dedicated to bringing young talent into the telecommunication industry by spearheading several millennial-focused initiatives to encourage the education and engagement of young professionals. He created the Millennials in Telecom Reception at PTC in 2020, aimed at bringing young telecom employees together to network and engage with select industry veterans. Felix sees value in recruiting young professionals, many are digital natives, and the unique perspective they may bring to an industry that is often dominated by veterans. The involvement and development of these fresh, young professionals will do a great deal to propel the industry into the future. Felix is working closely with the PTC Advisory Council for young professionals to be more involved at industry conferences and secure a seat at the table where pivotal conversations shape the industry’s future. Felix is working to establish a Buy One Get One Free program that will allow nominated individuals from member organizations to attend the conference with free registration. Aside from helping shape the future of the Telecom industry, Felix has been instrumental in growing the ecosystem at NJFX’s CLS connectivity campus. His involvement in network development helped establish new logos at NJFX such as AT&T, Eastlink, and UPIX. View the fourth annual Power 100 in the June/July issue here.  About NJFX NJFX owns and operates a 64,800 square foot purpose-built Tier 3 Cable Landing Station (CLS) Colocation campus in Wall, NJ. This unique campus is the only carrier-neutral CLS colocation campus in the U.S supported by several route-independent carriers that offer direct access to multiple independent subsea cable systems interconnecting North America, Europe, South America and the Caribbean. The facility offers direct access to TGN1, TGN2, and Seabras. The building is the subsea cable landing of HAVFRUE/AEC2 this year as well as the Confluence system in the near future. High and low-density colocation solutions are available with 24/7 support.  
Media Contact:
Emily Newman, Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator
emily@njfx.net

Felix Seda Awarded Capacity Media’s Power 100! Read More »

Keeping The Lights On

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Keeping The Lights On

From 9/11 to Hurricane Sandy, the US has had a number of wake-up calls when it comes to its infrastructure. NJFX founder and CEO Gil Santaliz tells Melanie Mingas where the next points of failure could occur

Gil Santaliz

CEO

May 10, 2022

Capacity Media – Despite the rapid and widespread deployment of advanced connectivity infrastructure, the US has experienced several major outages over the past 20 years that happened just when the country needed its networks the most. The first major lesson in network resilience came on 9/11 when infrastructure damage and traffic surges took out mobile networks.

“9/11 was a wake-up call to how global connectivity actually operates,”

says NJFX founder and CEO Gil Santaliz.

“The number of calls getting through was one in four or one in 10, depending on the time of day. The basic lesson learned was that phones aren’t meant for everyone to use at the same time,” he adds.

Then, in 2012, came Hurricane Sandy. This event took out mobile and fixed connectivity as well as TV and entire data centres – what’s more, it proved that traditional subsea architectures were flawed. Aggregating traffic to route through New York and Miami had created two huge points of failure and the impact was felt as far afield as Europe.

“During Sandy, lower Manhattan lost power for multiple days and many providers lost all their capacity between North America and Europe, while some lost capacity between South America and Europe. Lower Manhattan affected global communications and it was after Sandy that the OTTs started on the path we are on today, and that was to diversify subsea architecture,” he recalls.

Today, New York is “no longer the epicentre” of US telecoms infrastructure and a series of diverse routes make a repeat of 2012 unlikely. However, while the industry has spent the past 20 years experiencing and solving these issues, another has emerged.

Twenty years ago, data centres occupied old corporate units across Manhattan; now they have largely moved to states with swathes of vacant land and tax incentives. “But what we left behind was the internet,” Santaliz says. “In those buildings in New York City, in Miami, where everything comes to one point to intersect.”

He is referring to the middle mile, the everything between the two last miles, where the bulk of network activity is concentrated.

He continues: “Internet connectivity now is dependent on infrastructure built 20, 40, 60 years ago that used to be office buildings or department stores. But once I leave that data centre or home, I have to compute and process that data – and, unfortunately, a lot of that middle mile infrastructure was not purpose-built, it was inherited.”

The solution sounds simple enough: continue to upgrade, but with business models based on collaboration, and focus on the future, rather than the capacity demands of the present. The catch is that such endeavours are expensive.

To help things along, late last year the US introduced a middle mile funding programme, intended to close gaps in underserved areas and create alternative network paths. As part of the US$65 billion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, it will see $1 billion made available to carriers.

“I think the new standard has to be to invest with a long-term view. Don’t put band-aids on problems you’re having, and don’t add more capacity in buildings that don’t make long-term sense. Start thinking about the end in mind, because a band-aid is only as good as a band-aid. You have to plan for a full solution,” Santaliz says.

“If New York City is still a single point of failure in your network, shame on you – because we have known that for a long time. Build resiliency into your platform,” he adds.

Different roads

For its part, NJFX celebrates seven years in operation in September and has a target to host 60 network operators by the end of 2023, up from 45 by the end of this year.

On the realities of that, Santaliz says: “They have to invest with you, they have to plan how to come to the building. If they all took the same road to bring their fibre to the building, we would have a single point of failure on that road that comes to the facility. We took the time to explai

Gil Santaliz moderates a session at ITW 2022 discussing 'The Never Down Internet Infrastructure'
Starting from the left: Gil Santaliz NJFX, Kevin Briggs CISA, Guy Tal LUMEN, Peter Cohen MICROSOFT

n to each different provider to take different roads.”

These issues are explored later today in the 4pm panel on stage A, The Reality of Never Down Network Infrastructure. Joining Santaliz on the panel is Kevin Briggs, regional protective security adviser at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency(CISA), which NJFX has worked with recently. Briggs is expe ted to share further details on how the agency aims to work with carriers.

“A lot of us in the industry are afraid of regulations, but it’s just the opposite. This group is here to try and provide support and resources and provide a way to collaborate on common issues that all carriers have. How do we keep these networks up and running and never down?”

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About NJFX:

NJFX is a Tier 3 Carrier Neutral Cable Landing Station campus. Our colocation ecosystem has expanded to over 35 network operators offering flexibility, reliability, and security. Our Wall, NJ location provides direct access to multiple subsea cable systems giving our carriers diverse connectivity solutions and offers direct interconnection without recurring cross-connect fees.

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AT&T Launches Strategic Network Point-of-Presence at NJFX Cable Landing Station

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AT&T Launches Strategic Network Point-of-Presence at NJFX Cable Landing Station

AT&T Launches Strategic Network Point-of-Presence in Wall, NJ

May 5, 2022

WALL TOWNSHIP  – AT&T* recently added a network Point-of-Presence (PoP) within the NJFX Cable Landing Station (CLS) colocation campus located in Wall, NJ. This strategic deployment provides access to AT&T’s domestic and global network and helps increase network efficiency for customers.

We will offer services from our Ethernet and transport portfolio including AT&T Virtual Private Network, Ethernet Private Line Service, OPT-E-WAN, and AT&T Dedicated Internet/Managed Internet Service for speeds up to 100G.

The new PoP will provide access for customers to directly interconnect with subsea capacity services across the Atlantic to Europe and Latin America. International-based customers can transport data to AT&T’s PoP and extend their reach to major U.S. metro markets via their robust U.S. backbone system. Customers can also interexchange traffic across the multiple subsea cable systems available at NJFX, including TGN1, TGN2, and Seabras.

“We are continually looking for ways to strategically expand our offerings to customers,” said Michael DeChiara, Associate Vice President, AT&T Wholesale Solutions. “Through our new Point-of-Presence at NJFX, we have added another critical location to address customer’s growing requirements for access to our advanced and powerful global network, including our extensive fiber footprint in the U.S., which is now available coast-to-coast for wholesale customers.”

“We are pleased that AT&T has chosen to establish a Point-of-Presence at our CLS colocation campus, states Gil Santaliz, CEO of NJFX. “It has always been our vision to develop NJFX to become North America’s preeminent international hub for subsea communications, interconnecting many international carriers across three continents with multiple secure and reliable backhaul and U.S. termination options. World-class communications providers like AT&T recognize that NJFX provides a nexus for collaboration where they can build out new and reinforce existing networks with diverse routes while extending their global reach.”

*About AT&T

We help more than 100 million U.S. families, friends and neighbors connect in meaningful ways every day. From the first phone call 140+ years ago to our 5G wireless and multi-gig internet offerings today, we @ATT innovate to improve lives. For more information about AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), please visit us at about.att.com. Investors can learn more at investors.att.com.

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About NJFX:

NJFX is a Tier 3 Carrier Neutral Cable Landing Station campus. Our colocation ecosystem has expanded to over 35 network operators offering flexibility, reliability, and security. Our Wall, NJ location provides direct access to multiple subsea cable systems giving our carriers diverse connectivity solutions and offers direct interconnection without recurring cross-connect fees.

For NJFX media inquiries, please contact: emily@njfx.net

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SUSTAINABLE SUBSEA AT NJFX

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Sustainable Subsea at NJFX

Energy + Telecommunications: Bringing together worlds at the Cable landing station 

SubTel Forum Magazine #123 – Finance & Legal

Published on 

Even for zero-carbon operators, such as the cable landing station campus NJFX, efficiency remains key.

“Energy efficiency is always at the forefront when considering design in power intensive critical infrastructure,” NJFX CEO Gil Santaliz reports.

And as Gil Santaliz makes plans to establish solar panels this year at NJFX, he too will have to work creatively to address the challenges to renewable development.

“if telecom equipment fans are exhausting hot air to a wrong direction for optimization, our customers don’t want to hear about changing equipment and affecting their customers, and they are correct. So, the option is to investigate how those fans can be reversed without affecting service, or if there are air flow baffles available, or if a different kind of rack door would help.”

Gil Santaliz echoes this sentiment: because “never down” is the standard, “best practices that are proven without impact to site resilience is easy. New technologies are challenging to incorporate when there is any potential of impact to the twenty-five year design life.”

 

Click here to read the full article about Sustainable Subsea.

Click here to read this months issue of SubTel Forum Magazine.

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About NJFX:

NJFX is a Tier 3 Carrier Neutral Cable Landing Station campus. Our colocation ecosystem has expanded to over 35 network operators offering flexibility, reliability, and security. Our Wall, NJ location provides direct access to multiple subsea cable systems giving our carriers diverse connectivity solutions and offers direct interconnection without recurring cross-connect fees.

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SUSTAINABLE SUBSEA AT NJFX Read More »

Eastlink is excited to expand our network into NJFX’s robust telecom ecosystem. This will provide diverse routing for key destinations such as Ashburn, VA while avoiding the congested NYC metro area."
Steve Irvine
Steve IrvineSenior VP Engineering and CTO
We are pleased to be participating in this unique, carrier neutral ecosystem NJFX has created to deepen our relationship with the wholesale carrier community as well as provide the enterprise customers optionally for access to diverse terrestrial networks and our Seabras-1 subsea cable system. This is an exciting opportunity to reach new customers with flexibility and scale while driving end-user enablement at this world-class facility.
Steve Orlando
Steve OrlandoCEO
We are continually looking for ways to strategically expand our offerings to customers, through our new Point-of-Presence at NJFX, we have added another critical location to address customer’s growing requirements for access to our advanced and powerful global network, including our extensive fiber footprint in the U.S., which is now available coast-to-coast for wholesale customers.”
Michael DeChiara
Michael DeChiara Associate Vice President, AT&T Wholesale Solutions
Our collaboration with NJFX gives Colt customers rapid access to critical digital infrastructure and satisfies the diversity and low latency needs of some of the most demanding customers in the financial sector,
Robin Farnan
Robin FarnanEVP – Operations & Engineering at Colt
On-Demand connectivity opens incredible possibilities for different verticals or even carriers looking to expand into Latam while minimizing risk and cost of entry. With this unique offering we are introducing a new way to improve the traditional model, providing the right flexibility and dynamicity to scale resources as needed”
Jeremy Villalobos
Jeremy VillalobosCOO at Orchest.
As we embark on this strategic partnership with NJFX, we’re not just connecting infrastructure; we’re forging a pathway for our customers to traverse the digital landscape faster and more efficiently than ever before. We are excited to be partnering with NJFX and this collaboration amplifies opportunities for our customers to access Europe with unprecedented speed on the EXA network. We are committed to providing cutting-edge solutions in today’s digital era that is defined by connectivity.
Steve Roberts
Steve RobertsVP Network Investments
We are excited to expand our network to NJFX. Today’s network expansion furthers our goal of providing more connectivity globally to as many enterprises as possible, while satisfying critical bandwidth demands.
Mike Leber
Mike LeberPresident
United Fiber & Data is excited to bring our geographically diverse fiber network and flexible, low latency lit services of 10G and 100G to provide secure, high capacity network connectivity to NJFX and its clients. United Fiber & Data’s fiber infrastructure and scalable capacity on its unique route and the ability to turn up services quickly positions us to be the provider of choice for secure, high capacity, low latency network connectivity.
Christopher Lodge
Christopher LodgeCOO and interim CEO
Establishing a PoP at NJFX provides Console Connect and PCCW Global users with access to direct, low latency routes to major business hubs along the east coast. At the same time, we are excited to bring Console Connect’s on-demand global connectivity to NJFX customers, who can experience the agility and flexibility of Software Defined Interconnection®.
Marc Halbfinger
Marc HalbfingerCEO

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