Colt Technology Services completed the deployment of a new dark fibre (G.652D/G.657) cable along the Channel Tunnel connecting London (UK) to Paris (France).
Colt’s new fibre network will provide businesses and organisations with faster, more reliable, and uninterrupted data connectivity across borders. It will also support the growing demand for cloud computing and other digital services in both London and Paris, with a seamless end-to-end SLA.
Colt, which is responsible for the day-to-day operations of all new cables installed in the Channel Tunnel, boasts a transfer rate of several Tbps per fibre pair with the new infrastructure. With this evolution of the infrastructure, customers will have access to their 100Gbps/400Gbps Colt IQ network, supported by reliable low latency, high-bandwidth connectivity and service guarantees through the tunnel. The tunnel offers the best path to close a key network loop that runs between London, Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam.
Colt says the new fibre enables it to offer significantly better security and more capacity than subsea cables in that the Channel Tunnel is a highly protected environment not vulnerable to piracy, ship anchors, commercial fishing, or shipping. The tunnel has had no accidents since its installation in 1994.
“We are pleased to announce the successful completion of this step of this important project,” said Herve Jost, Director of Eurotunnel/Getlink Connectivity Solutions, Colt Technology Services. “Approximately 80% of the internet traffic which runs between the UK and mainland Europe today travels through the Channel Tunnel. Our new fibre cable in the Tunnel will transform the subterranean rail link between the UK and mainland Europe into a major data route to support the anticipated growth in traffic over the coming years.”
