The state of subsea was the main focus at Subsea Americas 2019 conference in Washington, DC this week. And the consensus was that that the state of subsea is currently in flux.  Subsea is changing rapidly, to accommodate the exponential increases in capacity demands the industry will soon see, and in many cases is already seeing. With many cables reaching their end of life and at least one to be decommissioned in the very near future, the spotlight is on next generation connectivity, what shape that takes and what players are involved.

One highlight of the event was a panel entitled, “Changing Dynamics of U.S. East Coast Network Architectures.” NJFX Founder and CEO Gil Santaliz served as the moderator, with insight from panelists Jim Cataudella, SVP, Network Platform & Critical Infrastructure Engineering for Bank of America, Ivo Pascucci, VP, Telia Carrier, Paul Scott, CEO, Confluence Networks and Joe Scattareggia, EVP, Wholesale, Windstream Wholesale.

While there are many viewpoints and perspectives, all of the panelists agreed that one thing is clear: The old model of the Cable Landing Station (CLS) as a passive, pass through location is no more. Carriers, cable system operators and others are realizing that the CLS must now be a hub with a rich and diverse ecosystem. This ecosystem should include multiple backhaul routes, provided by several different carriers, IP access, peering for cloud providers and high capacity internet. For more details about panel discussions, read the latest edition in “The CLS Matters” series.

The changing landscape, indeed SEAscape, brings an exciting shift for the entire subsea and terrestrial ecosystem. Hubs like NJFX will increase, bringing a new level of secure, diverse, high capacity connectivity. The leadership at NJFX looks forward to playing a key role in the evolution. You can next find the team at PTC 2020 in Honolulu, HI, January 19-22, where CEO Gil Sanatliz will participate on a panel entitled, “Data Centers and Networks on the (Cutting) Edge”. To book a meeting, email [email protected].