NJFX Blog

NJFX Hires Sarah Kurtz as Sales Support Manager, Bringing a Fresh, Female Perspective to Industry

November 26, 2019

Wall Township, NJ – NJFX, the only Cable Landing Station (CLS) colocation campus in the U.S offering Tier 3, carrier-neutral data center capabilities, announces naming Sarah Kurtz to serve as Sales Support Manager. As a recent college graduate and former NJFX intern, Sarah has come of age in the internet era, where technology, IoT devices and smartphones are ever present. This provides Ms. Kurtz a unique perspective of the industry and a smart approach to working with clients. The leadership at NJFX is excited to usher Ms. Kurtz into the dynamic subsea industry and build a powerful foundation for her and other young women in the infrastructure space.

Ms. Kurtz, born and raised in Sea Girt, New Jersey, graduated from Fairfield University in Connecticut with a degree in Computer Science. She credits her studies with sparking her interest in the technology field and led to an internship with NJFX, which expanded that interest to the telecommunications industry. After graduation, she spent a year as a software developer for Verizon. It was then that NJFX Founder and CEO Gil Santaliz reached out to offer Ms. Kurtz the position of Sales Support Manager.

“Sarah brings a lot to the table as a young woman entering the telecom field. We are looking forward to having a fresh perspective, not only for us, but also for the industry,” says Felix Seda, General Manager of NJFX, “She is eager to soak up as much as she can, as quickly as she can and we’re excited to have her on our team as we look to 2020 and beyond.”

The move from working on software to hardware has proven to be an exciting one for Ms. Kurtz. “In software development, it was just me and my computer. But in subsea there is so much more emphasis on networking and learning from others.” The fast pace of her work has also proven to be a big draw, with Ms. Kurtz citing this as an area of opportunity for young people aspiring to join the industry. “I find that people of my generation are hungry for knowledge about the technology they have grown up with. They are ready and willing to learn. That directly correlates with the vast amount of information about this industry,” she comments adding, “Learning quickly and keeping up with the pace of the ever-advancing technology is something my generation is well equipped for.”

“Being a young woman often makes me a minority in the room. But I have found this to be a big motivator rather than a challenge. It just makes me eager to learn quickly and stand out as a leader, ” Ms. Kurtz says about being in a male-dominated field, “It really lights a fire in me to work harder.” She has also had the opportunity to travel often with NJFX and meet with many prominent women in tech and telecom, and she uses these opportunities to develop professional and personal relationships.

“Sarah, being a digital native, represents everything this industry needs, and I am looking forward to seeing more of her in the future,” remarks Merete Caubet, Vice President of Sales & Business Development of NJFX partner, Bulk Infrastructure. “Creating diversity within our industry has been a big initiative lately, with industry events’ hosting sessions focused on bringing the women of tech and telecom together and pre-professional programs for college students, so it is really exciting to see these initiatives paying off. We congratulate NJFX on such a successful recruitment to the team.”

You can find Ms. Kurtz at Subsea Americas, December 10-12, in Washington, DC. The event will feature an interactive workshop called the “Women in Subsea Initiative” tasked to create an environment that encourages knowledge sharing, promotes diversity, and encourages a trading of skills. In addition, NJFX is a Silver sponsor of the event. For more information, visit www.njfx.net or contact [email protected] to set up a meeting.

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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.

NJFX Marks its Third Anniversary as a True CLS Connectivity Hub

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NJFX Marks its Third Anniversary as a True CLS Connectivity Hub

Disrupting the Industry as the New Model for Subsea Connectivity

September 25, 2019

Wall Twp., NJ – When NJFX broke ground in September 2015, Founder and CEO Gil Santaliz had a vision to create connectivity in a neutral environment at the cable landing station where competition could be fostered to benefit customers and collaboration could occur to increase connectivity and diversity for all. Today, that vision has been fully realized, just three years after celebrating the NJFX grand opening with racing legend Mario Andretti, and Super Bowl XXV MVP O.J. Anderson and Steven Baker “The Touchdown Maker” for the pre-party golf outing to kick off the inception of this truly unique facility.

NJFX has experienced unprecedented growth since its 2016 grand opening, securing its position as major a hub of connectivity for North America and beyond. NJFX is the only Cable Landing Station (CLS) colocation campus in the U.S offering Tier 3 carrier-neutral data center capabilities. Positioned at the eastern edge of North America, NJFX’s 64,800 square foot facility is strategically located 64 ft above sea level in a Category-5 hurricane resistant building. This location currently provides direct access to three unique subsea cable systems bypassing congested legacy routes in New York City and Miami, while interconnecting North America, South America and Europe. By the end of the year, a fourth cable system will be online, bridging NJFX to the Nordic Gateway. NJFX will serve as an on-ramp solution into the Havfrue Cable System which stretches 7,200 kilometers from New Jersey to Ireland, Denmark and Norway. This cable system unlocks one of the few genuinely sustainable solutions in the data center industry today.

The site also houses seven independent U.S. fiber backhaul routes. This combined connectivity has made NJFX an industry leading, carrier neutral colocation facility that has not been replicated elsewhere on the Eastern seaboard.

NJFX 2016 Grand Opening

Another part of NJFX’s core mission is a focus on conscious capitalism. While NJFX relies on developing a profitable business, it has not taken on any outside debt and has made the decision to remain solvent long-term to provide infrastructure in a sustainable way. As demonstrated during a summit for multinational banks hosted at NJFX earlier this year, bank leadership teams have an appreciation of this mindset. They cannot provide their services without having credible partners in place who take instilling trust seriously and deliver upon it. Financial institutions count on reliable partners who have fairness and equity as part of their core tenets. NJFX’s customers and partners are provided opportunities to grow their business by leveraging global relationships, while operating in complete transparency. Santaliz has realized in today’s market if there is no balance between profit and the responsibility to vendors, employees and customers, long term business growth is difficult.

NJFX executives have proven their thought leadership and expertise through key speaking engagements at several high-profile industry events such as PTC, ICPC, Capacity Media and Submarine Networks EMEA. NJFX founder and CEO, Gil Santaliz, is honored to be a part of the Submarine Networks EMEA 2020 Advisory Board, as well as the Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC) Advisory Board. The company has earned several awards and recognition which highlight the company’s most recent achievements, including:

Shortlisted for Capacity’s 2019 Global Carrier Award: Best Data Centre Innovation
Honored by the Tilt-Up Concrete Association (TCA) for construction excellence.
Awarded as the Best Global Connectivity Solution by TMT’s Global Excellence Program for its Cable Landing Station (CLS) campus ecosystem
Recognition of NJFX Founder and CEO Gil Santaliz in Capacity Media’s Power 100, the first ever listing of 100 of the most influential men and women in the wholesale telecommunications industry.
Awarded Capacity Media’s Best North American Project 2018 for its facility expansion.
Certified as a HIPAA compliant facility, allowing for secure health data to be stored and/or transmitted.

In the coming months and years, Santaliz and NJFX will continue to focus on cultivating New Jersey’s digital economy with a planned campus expansion that will allow for more data center capacity. This, in part, will allow New Jersey to compete with leading data center locations like Ashburn, VA, where tax incentives have brought a significant tech economy to the region.

NJFX is smashing the model of a CLS as being a quiet place that is seldom visited. The CLS can no longer be a passive location serving a singular purpose, it must be more than just a landing point that provides connection to a faraway hub for carriers. Today, NJFX serves as a landing point that is the hub itself, bringing unprecedented capacity and connectivity to North America, South America, Europe and the Caribbean. The company is proud to celebrate its three-year anniversary with its robust ecosystem of partners, carriers, customers. Here’s to an even bigger year ahead!

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About NJFX:

NJFX Founder & CEO Gil Santaliz to Offer Insights for Subsea Projects Panel at Capacity Europe 2019

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NJFX Founder & CEO Gil Santaliz to Offer Insights for Subsea Projects Panel at Capacity Europe 2019

NJFX CEO Monderate Facebook, Telxius, Bulk Infrastructure and TI Sparkle on Risks, Challenges, and Best Practices in our industry

September 10, 2019

Wall Township, NJ – NJFX Founder and CEO Gil Santaliz will offer his expertise and lead a panel discussion at Capacity Europe on Wednesday, October 30th. The panel, entitled “Subsea Projects 101 – Risks, Challenges, and Best Practices”, also features Ricardo Orcero of Facebook, Monica Martinez of Telxius, Rob Bath representing Bulk Infrastructure, and Federico Porri of TI Sparkle Americas.

The panelists will discuss their predictions for the subsea landscape in the next two years, including best practices for new projects and how the industry can best collaborate older systems and assets with new installations. The discussion will be presented in a case study manner and will cover:

Today’s Subsea landscape & predictions for the next 12 to 24 months
Architecting new systems for the future from branching unit selection, back haul, to landing points/ parties & partners. Best practices on getting it right.
Coordination & Collaboration between the older system with assets & the new systems. Does it happen? How much can be repurposed?
How does the transition take place for customers from retiring systems to the new cables? What can we expect when all the new capacity goes online?
Aside from the OTT’s who might we expect to drive future demand? Research, Media, Government, Financial or who?

Mr. Santaliz will be providing valuable insights regarding the subsea industry, as NJFX has been closely involved in a number of recent subsea cable projects and can provide the perspective of role the Cable Landing Station (CLS) in connectivity and supporting infrastructure. To learn more about why the CLS matters, check out our recent blog post on the topic.

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About NJFX:

WHY THE CABLE LANDING STATION MATTERS

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WHY THE CABLE LANDING STATION MATTERS

Creating Unprecedented Connectivity with a Robust Ecosystem

September 4, 2019

Traditionally quiet places that are seldom visited, the Cable Landing Station (CLS) is supposed to serve one purpose: a point where several hundred million dollars’ worth of subsea cable projects, representing more than 90% of the world’s internet traffic, convert to a terrestrial cable that then provides connectivity to major population centers. Normally, this traditional terrestrial cable has two routes to ensure uptime to the hub, designed that way in case one is compromised. Once it reaches the hub, it fans across an entire continent. That concept worked for decades. But today’s CLS can no longer be a passive location. It must be more than just a landing point that allows connection to a faraway hub for carriers. Today, we are building cable landing station campuses that ARE the hub itself.

The genesis of this new concept comes from the OTTs. When downtime is not an option and microseconds count, OTTs use this concept to avoid points of failure to reach their hyperscale data centers. Enterprise companies also appreciate this concept because they want 100% uptime. A Cable Landing Station campus, with a fully integrated Tier 3 colocation, can do what traditional carrier incumbents and Carrier Hotels have been doing for decades, controlling their networks in a wholesale environment, with no backhaul required, along with providing low latency and better access to connectivity globally.

Today, there are just a few unique places on the planet with direct CLS access to both multiple subsea cables and multiple backhaul routes. One is in Marseille, France. Another is NJFX at the Jersey Shore, which is rivaling Marseille in terms of the number of subsea and backhaul routes.

Because of its location on the edge of domestic and international networks and subsea cables, NJFX enables enterprises, financials and carriers to utilize direct routing, eliminate single points of failure and avoid typical network congestion points.

“By being a part of the NJFX ecosystem, we are able to extend our connectivity solutions for Latin America, as well as the Caribbean,” comments Luciano Salata, president and co-founder of Neutrona Networks. “This is especially important for financial firms as well as enterprises who are looking for managed connectivity to public clouds and can easily leverage our SDN-ready network. We are thrilled to be a part of the innovative spirit NJFX has created by enabling real solutions and innovative approaches with its partners.”

It is crucial to have clarity in global connectivity. In order to do that, there are now multiple terrestrial options to the CLS and then multiple subsea networks to route across oceans with diverse landings in the next continent. The availability of multiple routes both subsea and terrestrial is crucial to become a true CLS hub. A cable system cannot land at a site and be stranded with one backhaul provided. Multiple backhaul routes create truly diverse options, which in turn can allow both for collaboration, as well as competition. If one carrier is not providing necessary interconnection, with a robust ecosystem, there are half a dozen other choices.

A hub at the site of the CLS eliminates backhaul that can often cause connectivity issues. For example, a manhole fire in a city the data was never meant to visit or network regrooming on lit services due to the carrier dealing with other network issues related to outages. These scenarios are no longer acceptable. Clarity, operational independence and direct access to subsea capacity whether intercontinental or up and down the coast are the best options. Enterprises and OTTs should always know how the data flows 100% of the time.

“The carrier-neutral model at the cable hub itself is the way to move forward, in my opinion. NJFX is one of the few leaders globally with this new model of connectivity at the cable landing site. On the Nordic side, we have built the same neutrality so carriers can interconnect freely,” states Peder Naerbo, Bulk Infrastructure. “In addition to that, data center colocation facilities are very suited to being at the cable landing points as opposed to further inland. As part of the Havfrue subsea cable consortium, Bulk Infrastructure, this year, announced the launch of the Nordic Gateway at the NJFX CLS. This on-ramp solution accessing high capacity fiber networks unlocks the Nordic’s ample supply of sustainable energy, for the data center industry and bringing expanded capabilities from Northern Europe into the US.”

Legacy carrier hotels on Long Island, New Jersey and in lower Manhattan are not capable of providing this type of infrastructure model that provides interconnection to over 500 terabits of Subsea Connectivity. The NJFX Tier 3 carrier-neutral colocation campus located at the CLS does something that no other facility can: provide a viable alternative for carriers and large organizations to design resilient network architectures at a secure location and further ensure global networks stay operational.

Positioned at the easternmost edge of North America, NJFX’s HIPAA-compliant facility is the centerpiece of the very first Cable Landing Station colocation campus in North America. This location provides direct access to four unique subsea cable systems bypassing New York City and Miami, interconnecting North America, South America and Europe. Having a leading carrier-neutral colocation facility at the cable landing site has not been replicated elsewhere on the Eastern seaboard where cables land.

When the latest upgrade of cable systems was completed nearly 20 years ago, smartphones barely existed. It is important for bandwidth players to have enough redundancy built across these cable systems to support their massive bandwidth needs.

“Aqua Comms focuses its skills, talent and capital to develop submarine cables, where it often works with other large private users who seek to own modern, high-capacity, trans-oceanic fiber pairs,” states Nigel Bayliff, CEO. Aqua Comms is part of the consortium of the new trans-Atlantic cable system, which traverses the North Atlantic to connect mainland Northern Europe to the U.S. Aqua Comms is the operator and landing party in the U.S., Ireland, and Denmark, where the company will market and sell capacity services and raw spectrum on its portion of the cable system under the brand name America Europe Connect-2 (AEC-2).

NJFX provides additional connectivity options via two campus Meet-Me-Rooms, generating a high-resilience, fully redundant, low-latency network with direct interconnection options for service providers, enterprises, carrier-neutral operators and cable companies. Its colocation customers pay no recurring fees on cross-connects and are provided full access to subsea capacity via four independent cable systems. Cloud access is available via AWS, Oracle, Alibaba Cloud, IBM Cloud, Azure and Google Cloud Partners. Dark fiber is offered by Zayo, Zenfi, Windstream Wholesale and Altice. SDWAN/NFV provides orchestrated flexible networking solutions using services provided by Epsilon, Tata Communications, and more. IP Peering is offered by NetIX, which this year launched in North America at NJFX.

Along with connectivity, security at the cable landing site is key. So much so, that U.S. cable landing sites are now under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security and considered “hardened infrastructure”. According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the concentration of cable landing sites in very few physical locations and the relative ease in finding documented cable routes and cable termination points could facilitate the targeting of the submarine cable network by bad actors. Security is tight and constantly monitored.

“At NJFX, customers can enjoy direct advanced connectivity solutions to Brazil and beyond through Sparkle’s Seabras-1 capabilities,” says Federico Porri, CTO at Sparkle Americas. “As we are constantly working to provide more value and secure, diverse options for our customers, we are happy to partner with NJFX, a company that provides a very reliable and flexible environment. Such an environment where data center facilities are integrated with a Cable Landing Station is a concept that we have also developed in our Sicily Hub in Italy. This model creates a business environment that enables carriers and customers to save on investment not just in terms of backhaul connectivity but also in terms of equipment needed to light the backhaul capacity.”

NJFX Founder and CEO Gil Santaliz puts it in simple terms. “We facilitate the party, and everyone can come to the party. Our goal is to make sure everyone knows they’ve been invited!”

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About NJFX:

NJFX Secures Position as Major CLS Connectivity Hub

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NJFX Secures Position as Major CLS Connectivity Hub

Marks first half of 2019 with the company’s unprecedented growth, industry recognition and thought leadership

July 26, 2019

NJFX, the only Cable Landing Station (CLS) colocation campus in the U.S offering, Tier 3, carrier-neutral data center capabilities, experienced unprecedented growth in the first half of 2019, securing its position as major a hub of connectivity for North America and beyond. NJFX executives have proven their thought leadership and expertise to become in demand speakers at several high-profile industry events, and have earned awards and recognition that highlight the company’s most recent achievements.NJFX was honored by the Tilt-Up Concrete Association (TCA) for construction excellence. Founded in 1986, TCA is comprised of architects, engineers, suppliers, general contractors, concrete subcontractors, and developers that support site-cast Tilt-Up construction techniques. This is a special construction technique using concrete and is known for energy efficiency, safety, security, durability, expandability, sustainability. NJFX’s highly reliable and secure facility is designed to withstand a Category 5 hurricane and was built using this technique.

TMT’s Global Excellence Program recognized NJFX and presented the company the Best Global Connectivity Solutions award for its Cable Landing Station (CLS) campus ecosystem, which enables enterprises, financials, content providers, media, government, and telecoms to have maximized redundancy, reduced latency, and better quality connections. All with fewer international points of failure – validating the protection of their international traffic.NJFX Founder and CEO Gil Santaliz was recognized as part of Capacity Media’s Power 100, the first ever listing of 100 of the most influential men and women in the wholesale telecommunications industry. Capacity Media’s criteria for landing a spot on the coveted list included those known for being innovators, critical thinkers and agents of change who are continuously pushing the industry forward.

The first part of 2019 also brought lots of activity on the thought leadership front, as NJFX brought expertise to the industry’s premier event, the Pacific Telecommunications Council conference (PTC). Founder and CEO Gil Santaliz presented at the event’s annual “Global Submarine Cable Update”, a highlight of the event, as industry leaders provided the latest on subsea cable projects and regulation around the globe. VP of Business Development Roy Hilliard addressed issues around scalable and agile network infrastructures and how networks can evolve to support and enable IoT adoption and prepare for the coming of 5G.

From Hawaii to London, the next stop for Santaliz was speaking at this year’s Submarine Networks EMEA 2019 event. Santaliz was invited as a member of the keynote panel, entitled ‘Making waves: Emerging strategies & opportunities in the subsea cable industry’. He discussed North America’s vast data center landscape and the massive shift occurring across Atlantic subsea cables, and what happens when those cables reach their economic end of life.

At Capacity Media’s Wan Summit in New York in April, Hilliard presented a use case presentation along with a leader in the banking industry entitled, “Operational Independence – Rethinking Network Architecture and Ownership.” The case study provided a closer look at the challenges faced by enterprises and financials today on the U.S. east coast and the innovative solutions that are critical for the industry to consider in achieving operational independence.Santaliz also brought his expertise to CAPRE’s Eighth Annual Greater New York Data Center & Cloud Infrastructure Summit on April 18th in Times Square. Santaliz spoke on the panel entitled, “Cloud On-Ramps: Finding Data Centers with Connectivity to Major Cloud Providers”. Discussion included the vitality of an on ramp, transparency in data center cloud applications, cloud consolidation and more.

Then it was on to San Diego for Hilliard for the ICPC Conference. This year’s theme was Critical Infrastructure Across the Oceans – Protecting Submarine Cables and the Marine Environment.

Global communications are dependent on subsea infrastructure and today it’s becoming more critical than ever to ensure cables are resilient on every front – seabed, cable landing station level and even how they interconnect with terrestrial fiber backhaul networks. Several additional major milestones also marked the first half of 2019. NJFX achieved its Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) certification.

NJFX is the only Cable Landing Station in North America to earn this certification, demonstrating its continued leadership in the telecommunications industry. This certification reflects the most stringent standards for data centers in the industry and are required for all facilities hosting medical records.NJFX welcomed a Point of Presence (PoP) for NetIX, a Europe-based carrier class Ethernet exchange. This is the first entry into the U.S. market by NetIX. The company was recently recognized at Capacity’s Global Carrier Awards as “Best Internet Exchange”, confirming the marketplace’s trust in the company’s platform. Neutrona Networks also secured a PoP at NJFX. Neutrona is a leading managed network service provider. This PoP brings a greater experience of connectivity to Latin America (LATAM). With partners like Neutrona Networks, NJFX is quickly becoming the alternate LATAM hub, providing options that bypass the congested Florida region in route to LATAM.

At ITW in Atlanta, Bulk Infrastructure announced the Nordic Gateway, originating from NJFX. The Nordic Gateway is the on-ramp solution into the Havfrue Cable System, Bulk Infrastructurestretching 7,200 kilometers from New Jersey to Denmark and Norway.

With Bulk’s exclusive ownership to the Norwegian branch of the cable system, Bulk controls six routes in the system between the USA, Ireland, Denmark and Norway.

Bulk’s Nordic Gateway unlocks one of the few genuinely sustainable solutions in the data center industry today. With this solution, the data center industry can utilize 100% pure emissions-free hydropower from the Nordic countries.

Bulk has chosen NJFX in Wall, NJ as the US on-ramp location for the Nordic Gateway.For a bit of fun all in the name of a good cause, NJFX participated in the Hoboken Angelwish Wiffleball Classic to benefit an organization that helps bring joy to children living with chronic illnesses by allowing individuals to grant holiday and birthday gifts online. “NJFX takes great pride in being able to contribute to causes like Angelwish; we feel that giving back to the community that you live and work in is paramount. At NJFX, corporate social responsibility is something that is held to a great degree of importance,” comments Santaliz. “In addition to consciously participating in charities, fundraisers, and local events, we are transparent in our business practices.

We think it all adds up to ensuring the company will remain in high regard with employees, customers and the community.” With NJFX’s thought leadership on strengthening network resiliency, prioritizing network diversity and providing accessible connectivity with international subsea cable systems, the company is on the forefront of a transparent solution for carriers and customers alike. All of this is uniquely available in a carrier-neutral setting that is strategically positioned 64 feet above sea level in a Tier III, secure facility on the Jersey Shore. Stay tuned for more major developments ahead!

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About NJFX:

NJFX Plays Ball for a Great Cause

NJFX Blog / NJFX

NJFX Plays Ball for a Great Cause

Great day to bring out your inner child for a great cause

June 14, 2019

NJFX, the only Cable Landing Station (CLS) colocation campus in the U.S offering, Tier 3, carrier-neutral data center capabilities, participated in a wiffleball tournament with charity organization Angelwish today, Friday June 14th. Angelwish helps bring joy to children living with chronic illnesses by allowing individuals to grant holiday and birthday gifts online and guarantees that 100% of donations go directly to program services. The Hoboken Angelwish Wiffleball Classic, hosted by the organization, is an annual event that combines the spirit of competition with an excellent community-focused cause. Attendees included Verizon, Ciena, and last year’s champions, Nasdaq.

“NJFX takes great pride in being able to contribute to causes like Angelwish; we feel that giving back to the community that you live and work in is paramount. At NJFX, corporate social responsibility is something that is held to a great degree of importance,” comments Gil Santaliz, NJFX CEO. “In addition to consciously participating in charities, fundraisers, and local events, we are transparent in our business practices. We think it all adds up to ensuring the company will remain in high regard with employees and the community alike.”

“An event like this a great opportunity to get out and network with other industry players,” adds Felix Seda, NJFX General Manager. “We also get the chance to contribute to our local families in need in a truly meaningful way. That makes the work that we do, feel worthwhile.”

To learn more about Angelwish, visit www.angelwish.org.

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About NJFX:

Lessons from the Sea: A look at ICPC 2019

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Lessons from the Sea: A look at ICPC 2019

May 24, 2019

1. Roy, you recently spoke in San Diego at the ICPC Conference – how was your experience?

RH: It was a fantastic event overall. This year’s theme was: ‘Critical Infrastructure Across the Oceans – Protecting Submarine Cables and the Marine Environment’ and it couldn’t have been a better topic or a better time to meet up with industry leaders and experts. Global communications are dependent on subsea infrastructure and in this day and age, it’s becoming more critical than ever to ensure cables are resilient on every front – seabed, cable landing station level and even how they interconnect with terrestrial fiber backhaul networks.

Being my first ICPC, I was amazed to see the many fronts that the organization is involved with to balance business needs, the environment and laws. It is an impressive, extensive docket.

2. What sector is driving for more transparency into all of that?

RH: It is not one sector, but rather all coming together to realize that clear connections are critical. At NJFX, we have talked to a lot of enterprises, financial firms and carriers which are all being pushed to know the physical network pathways and continue to seek ways to ensure operational independence. Widespread outages have dominated the headlines over the past year and when you couple that with weather, government actions, and other events, the outages can affect millions across major corporations and financial institutions. The thought of diversity being delivered by having a couple of providers is just not enough. It is more important than ever to peel back the layers and figure out what is causing these outages and ensure true resiliency.

3. So, what is causing the non-transparency?

RH: The lack of clarity has come from a variety of sources, but mainly through carrier consolidation wherein once diverse solutions are now migrated for synergies or cost savings. In similar fashion the records, knowledge, and options are also lost in the transition or frankly leave with the personnel affected by the service provider mergers.

When you add in mobile expansion and the upcoming addition of 5G networks, the fiber routes will be even more challenged with more splices, additions, cross overs – you name it.

4. What is the best go-to model for firms?

RH: OTTs and content providers have cracked the code by switching the script and building custom infrastructure. This ownership affords the firms consistency, as well as independence. There are no reasons why other large enterprises that are dependent upon applications being available (hint that is everyone) could do the same. Now, some may not launch subsea systems, but all can look towards dark fiber or even clear connections within neutral hubs as a way to gain more control. That said, we do have a firm looking to launch a subsea system which I touched upon in my presentation to the ICPC plenary.

5. What observations did you make from the conference about the state of the subsea industry?

RH: The subsea environment is strong with numerous projects underway around the globe. There is an equally strong move to recycle old infrastructure, which is great to see. Also, there is more and more data that the cables do not adversely affect the sea, especially when compared to pipelines or other similar systems.

What was fascinating to me is the amount of information about the sea that is being developed. We are mapping more portions of the ocean all the time, learning more about geological and biological changes. The industry is becoming more and more an asset to other organizations and certainly an advocate for the sea’s health and well-being.

6. Were there any new announcements made at the conference that you can share? Give us the scoop!

RH: Wind energy. Lots of development on this front and the cables coming to shore face similar issues as the connectivity systems – especially to the U.S. east coast. Although you may view the ocean as vast, there is increasing competition for the sea floor, especially when you consider added protected zones for fishing, conservation, etc.

7. Tell me more about your presentation. What did the audience zero in on the most? What questions were asked?

RH: I presented a case study for a new operating model that evolved from over a dozen high level conversations with large financial firms. I started by sharing feedback on the frustration that is present with current service providers in terms of aiding enterprises to offer always available solutions – the congestion of networks, overlaps, points of failure, etc. I then highlighted a solution that one firm is exploring which would be a coastal system connecting key cities along the east coast. This project evolved from the mid-Atlantic to northeast being especially problematic when it comes to reliability. As an example, the east coast per circuit number often has more problems than interconnections between cities throughout India.

The audience was surprised to hear an enterprise looking to take on such a project. However, looking back folks felt the same about Google and Facebook when they entered the space. What resonated most is the need for enterprises to have the same service levels as the content players. It is certainly reasonable to have the same access to your bank account as you have to your high school friend’s pet update or whatever you are binge watching.

7. Anything else you want to share?

RH: It was a content rich three days for sure. There is a clear focus on balancing sustainability with commercialization. The ICPC is taking leadership roles in education, planning, and governance. I am excited to continue to participate with the organization and look forward to taking part in future meetings.

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About NJFX:

Rethinking Status Quo – How to Achieve Operational IT Independence

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Rethinking Status Quo – How to Achieve Operational IT Independence

May 7, 2019

Downtime is not an option for any organization. Enterprises and financials are faced unrelenting pressure to ensure there is resiliency at every level. The threats are many and issues arise from an array of concerns including aging infrastructure, rising sea levels and weak areas within IT and data center infrastructure. Widespread outages have dominated deadlines over the past year, because those outages often affect millions across major corporations and financial institutions. In our highly innovative and high-tech times, it is surprising when an outage of this magnitude occurs, and even more so when that outage is not rectified for hours or even days. To unpack all of these dynamics and shed some more light on it, our very own Roy Hilliard is heading to San Diego next week to speak at the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) 2019 Plenary Meeting. This year’s theme is: ‘Critical Infrastructure Across the Oceans – Protecting Submarine Cables and the Marine Environment.’

The event will be held from 14-16 May 2019 and includes Roy’s session entitled, ‘Achieving Operational Independence: Rethinking Global Network Architecture & Ownership.’ In this session, Roy will emphasize the importance for financials and enterprises to take a deeper look at their underlying network and data center architecture in order to identify non-redundant components in traditional network architectures. For true operational network independence, this should start at the subsea cable level. According to TeleGeography, 99 percent of international data is transmitted by submarine cables.

Roy’s session will frame up the challenges faced, especially on the U.S. east coast as well as provide innovative solutions that are critical for the subsea industry to consider.

Key areas for discussion include:

● Transition from existing infrastructures

● Ensuring excellence in digital security – security is paramount

● Consortium power struggles

● Interconnectivity/Interoperability – clear and known pathways are key to ensure resiliency and redundancy

Stay tuned for Roy’s post-event write up, which will feature key insights from the conference!

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About NJFX:

Socially Responsible Capitalism: Bridging the Gap Between Profit and Conscience

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Socially Responsible Capitalism: Bridging the Gap Between Profit and Conscience

April 22, 2019

Capitalism has risen again as the dirtiest word in the American political landscape. A lot has been made about the moral aspects of competitive free markets. Those who see capitalism as immoral say greed makes companies put profits over people. Others say capitalism is the only system that has the power to pull people out of poverty. While the idea of the greedy CEO is not a new one, it’s gaining even more traction as Americans begin to question the cost vs. benefit of a free market economy.

To combat the appearance of the greedy corporation, businesses have put corporate responsibility in place – a system to donate funds to worthwhile causes. While that may seem to solve the issue, it’s sort of the easy way out. There must be a way to move beyond implementing a local community program or creating a company foundation. That level of corporate responsibility is not difficult to achieve but may not go far enough to relieve the perception that corporations only care about making as much profit as possible, despite the consequences.

There is a difference between corporate responsibility and conscious capitalism. The latter refers to a self-examination and self-awareness that asks, can we be mindful of our stakeholders and the public at the same time? This type of socially responsible capitalism means that we are looking out for everyone’s interests, while also running a profitable business. In this scenario customers, vendors, investors and employees all win. Too many companies use profitability as their underlying mission as opposed to creating balance and harmony between customers, vendors and investors. This harmony is the only way to stay in the game long term. Putting open door policies in place, where there is a willingness to listen to all parties, makes you what you are.

After selling highly successful 4Connections to Cablevision (now Altice) and settling into a comfortable retirement, NJFX founder Gil Santaliz served two terms on the Board of Morristown Memorial Hospital Foundation. He served as a Trustee for the Morristown-Beard School. But Santaliz felt there was more to do.

When the idea for NJFX was first imagined, it was an effort to find an infrastructure solution for New Jersey. The number one goal was not “How much can NJFX profit from existing?” Santaliz spearheaded the effort to invest millions of dollars to develop a world class facility at the highest elevation possible to ensure North America would have network diversity. Part of this effort included committing to a carrier-neutral model to avoid monopolistic behavior which has traditionally been the norm with cable landing stations globally. This disruptive approach supports socially responsible capitalism by protecting carriers, enterprises and OTTs from landlords that don’t always have their tenants’ best interest in mind.

This was possible in part because NJFX partners already had their own successful, independent businesses before coming on board at NJFX. The opportunity to help the state of New Jersey and surrounding regions with connectivity was the overarching factor for those investors who chose to help finance the project. This investment was a solution to aging and lacking infrastructure for both New Jersey and the U.S. The investors recognized this gap and wanted to play a role in creating better, more viable telecommunications infrastructure. The investors live in the communities that they operate the businesses in. They are cognizant of both helping the community and being a productive member of the community.

The biggest concern is that the industry is under intense pressure for profitability. Some carriers face Wall Street pressure. If they don’t perform, the idea of socially responsible capitalism can go off the rails. But we need to be mindful as a nation to not let profit get in the way of long-term results. Unfortunately, there are companies that given the opportunity will price gouge in the telecom industry. They charge exorbitant prices because they can. We’ve witnessed it and frowned upon it. A company might charge a customer for a line in a contract that went unnoticed or change that was needed. We’ve seen it happen globally, but also here in the U.S.

While NJFX relies on developing a profitable business, it has not taken on any outside debt and made the decision to be here long-term and provide infrastructure in a sustainable way. NJFX recently hosted multinational banks for a summit. The bank leadership teams were appreciative of the effort because their financial customers are selling trust – and they cannot provide their service without having credible partners in place who take instilling trust seriously and deliver upon it. Financial institutions count on reliable partners who have fairness and equity as part of their core tenets.

This idea of profit plus conscience goes both ways. When we work with our contractors, we’ve kept a record of 99% satisfaction in those relationships. Construction is never an easy process and we balance getting a product we think we deserve and paying the contractor fairly. With our customers and partners, we provide opportunities for introductions to grow their business by leveraging our global relationships. We have transparency in how we operate and how our industry works. And finally, with our employees, we’ve created programs to allow them to grow personally. We intentionally put them in positions of exposure to foster growth.

In today’s market if you don’t provide balance between profit and the responsibility to vendors, employees and customers, it’s very difficult to grow your business long term. The idea of sustainability lies in one word: fairness. You can make money, and still be equitable and just in your business relationships and economic models.

About Gil Santaliz

NJFX CEO, Gil Santaliz, is a well-respected thought leader in the subsea industry. He recently earned a spot on Capacity Media’s coveted Power 100 list. His innovative approach to thinking outside traditional telecom ways of partnerships and network architecture, has led him to establish a unique offering that impacts global communications. As founder of a metro fiber network company called 4Connections LLC, Gil realized there was a lack of route diversity for carriers. New York was the hotspot for internet landing points. A single point of connection means a single point of failure, and Gil knew this was something that needed to be solved. Gil sold 4Connections to Cablevision, now owned by Altice. Santaliz’s knowledge of internet infrastructure and its limitations, led to NJFX. This year Santaliz was invited to join the Submarine Networks EMEA 2020 Advisory Board as well as the Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC) Advisory Board. Santaliz graduated from Cornell University in 1988, with a Bachelor of Science.

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About NJFX:

NJFX Founder & CEO Gil Santaliz to Offer Insight on Cloud Connectivity and the Data Center

NJFX Blog / NJFX

NJFX Founder & CEO Gil Santaliz to Offer Insight on Cloud Connectivity and the Data Center

April 18, 2019

Gil Santaliz, Founder and CEO of NJFX, is bringing his expertise to CAPRE’s Eighth Annual Greater New York Data Center & Cloud Infrastructure Summit set for April 18th in Times Square. The Summit features leading technology infrastructure executives, data center real estate experts and leaders in the hyperscale, colocation, edge and cloud areas.

Mr. Santaliz will participate on the panel entitled, “Cloud On-Ramps: Finding Data Centers with Connectivity to Major Cloud Providers”. Discussion will include the vitality of an on ramp, transparency in data center cloud applications, cloud consolidation and more.

Mr. Santaliz brings his thought leadership to the Summit on the heels of being recognized as part of Capacity Media’s Power 100, the first ever listing of 100 of the most influential men and women in the wholesale telecommunications industry. Capacity Media’s criteria for landing a spot on the coveted list included those known for being innovators, critical thinkers and agents of change who are continuously pushing the industry forward.

With his thought leadership on strengthening network resiliency, prioritizing network diversity and providing accessible connectivity with international subsea cable systems, Mr. Santaliz is on the forefront of a transparent solution for carriers and customers alike, in a neutral setting that is strategically positioned 64 feet above sea level in a Tier III, secure facility on the Jersey Shore.

As a preview to the expertise Mr. Santaliz will bring to the Summit, CAPRE Media conducted a Q&A that includes his thoughts on data center reiterations. “Data centers have gone through an evolution over last 15 years from proprietary, localized, close to enterprise, to a realization that shared data centers are economical, to now hyperscale options which don’t require any CapEx. You can just pay as you go,” states Mr. Santaliz.

To learn more about NJFX, visit www.njfx.net. To request a meeting with members of the NJFX leadership team at the Summit, please contact [email protected].

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