Sparkle and Entel Bolivia partner for Bio-Oceanic Digital Corridor

Press Release

The two operators join forces to launch a novel low-latency terrestrial route linking Peru and Brazil via Bolivia

Sparkle, one of the world’s leading global operators, and Entel Bolivia, Bolivia’s largest telecommunications company, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly commercialize the terrestrial route connecting the Pacific and Atlantic coasts through Bolivia. The agreement, signed today on the sidelines of the ITW 26 global telecommunications event, focuses on bringing to market a high-performance alternative to existing submarine routes, meeting growing demand for scalable and resilient connectivity across regional digital ecosystems.

Latin America’s digital entertainment sector continues to expand rapidly, with Brazil acting as a central hub for game development, content distribution, and hosting services. However, several areas in western South America still rely on long-distance submarine or indirect international routes to reach the Atlantic, resulting in suboptimal performance for cloud gaming, real-time streaming, financial services, IoT and AI-driven applications.

The Bio-Oceanic Digital Corridor leverages Bolivia’s geographic position to establish a direct terrestrial pathway spanning approximately 4,370 kilometers across Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil. The route enables connectivity between Lima and São Paulo with latency reduced to below 60 milliseconds, compared to more than 120 ms on traditional submarine routes exceeding 12,000 kms. Rather than relying on fragmented routing architectures, the initiative introduces a unified terrestrial backbone designed to improve performance, route diversity and service resilience for regional and international traffic flows.

Under the MoU, Sparkle and Entel Bolivia will jointly commercialize the corridor, offering high-performance connectivity to gaming companies, ISPs, OTT platforms, digital service providers, and data centers across the region. A flexible commercial model will allow customers to access capacity through either partner, with revenue-sharing mechanisms to be defined in a subsequent agreement.

Entel Bolivia will contribute its terrestrial backbone infrastructure spanning national and cross-border segments, underpinned by a high-availability network comprising over 44,000 kilometers of fiber, advanced transmission technology, and a redundant architecture, connecting Lurín (Peru) with Puerto Quijarro (Bolivia) and multiple international interconnection points. Sparkle will manage the Brazilian segment from Puerto Quijarro to São Paulo. Together, the partners establish a high-capacity digital corridor designed to scale up to 60 Tbps, enabling diversified traffic flows between the continent’s two oceanic gateways.

The two companies will coordinate sales, operations, and maintenance activities, to ensure high levels of availability, security, quality of service, and route diversity at continental scale, thereby strengthening network resilience across South America.

“We are proud to collaborate with Entel Bolivia on this ambitious project, which reflects our shared vision to accelerate the region’s digital integration and support the growth of gaming, OTT services and cloud-based solution across Latin America” said Enrico Bagnasco, CEO of Sparkle.

“This initiative consolidates Bolivia’s position as a digital corridor in South America, enabling the efficient interconnection of the Pacific and Atlantic digital ecosystems, and unlocking new opportunities for the development of high-capacity digital services across the region,” added Jorge del Solar, General Manager of Entel Bolivia.

How is the international carrier industry changing in 2026? Join the discussion at Submarine Networks EMEA

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Submarine Networks EMEA 2026: Bridging the future of AI, security, and next-gen talent in London 

Press Release

LONDON, UK – The subsea cable industry’s most influential regional gathering, Submarine Networks EMEA, returns to the Business Design Centre in London from 27–28 May 2026. With over 1,250 senior leaders and 150 speakers, the 2026 edition comes at a pivotal moment as the industry navigates the increasing demands of AI and a complex global security landscape. 

AI and the subsea backbone  

Headlining this year’s event is the keynote panel exploring “How is AI shaping the subsea industry’s future?” This session will explore how the global surge in AI is fundamental altering subsea cable route planning and investment strategies. Featured on the panel is Thomas Hardy, Deputy Director of the US Trade and Development Agency, who will provide a crucial public sector perspective on how the drive to remain competitive in the AI era is shaping national digital infrastructure strategies. Deputy Director Hardy will be joined by speakers from Zayo Europe, Assured Communications, EXA Infrastructure, Equinix and Pioneer Consulting. 

Deep Dive: Subsea Security Summit & Expo  

New for 2026, the Subsea Security Summit, co-located with the main event, offers a dedicated theme of content focused on strategies for protecting the world’s most critical infrastructure. Key sessions for 2026 include: 

  • Choosing the right technology to secure, protect and monitor subsea infrastructure: An evaluation of the latest in fibre sensing, AIS tracking, and satellite monitoring to prevent cable strikes and sabotage. 
  • Assessing the risks to subsea cables and understanding the consequences: A strategic panel focused on identifying cable vulnerabilities, differentiating between the risks, and understanding the impact of faults and damage. 

The latest news on global subsea activity 

Back by popular demand are the News in Brief sessions, a series of quick-fire updates offering attendees a comprehensive snapshot of global cable projects, new connectivity hubs, and regional market shifts in a condensed, “need-to-know” format. 

Shaping the industry’s future 

This year, we are introducing Subsea Foundations content, with sessions specifically designed to support those who are new to the industry. These sessions will provide a high-level overview of any key aspects of the subsea sector, including legal and commercial, engineering, maintenance and regulation.  

Additionally, we are partnering with the SubOptic Association and the ESCA NextGen Subgroup to bridge the talent gap and will be featuring a dedicated networking event for early careers professionals, uniquely designed to match those starting out in their subsea careers with senior executives for mentorship and career guidance. 

Finally, we’re delighted to announce the SubOptic Foundation as our 2026 Charity Partner and will be supporting them with raising funds to continue their work to advance education, inclusion, and collaboration across the industry.  

“From the impact of AI to the evolving geopolitical landscape and its impact on cable protection and resilience, the 2026 programme reflects the shifting priorities of the submarine cable industry,” said Kerry Merritt, Head of Content at Total Telecom. “We’re really looking forward to the event next week which will bring the global subsea industry together in London for these essential conversations.” 

Registration is now open at https://www.terrapinn.com/conference/submarine-networks-world-europe/index.stm. 


About Submarine Networks EMEA Produced by Total Telecom, Submarine Networks EMEA is the region’s leading subsea connectivity event. It provides a platform for operators, investors, and technology partners to collaborate on the infrastructure that powers the global internet. 

Media Contacts: 

Kerry Merritt. Email: Kerry.Merritt@totaltele.com 

Halle Dockerill. Email: Halle.Dockerill@totaltele.com 

FCC greenlights EchoStar’s $40bn spectrum sale to SpaceX, AT&T

News

The approval will provide EchoStar with a much needed windfall

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and Space Bureau have granted approval to EchoStar to sell its spectrum to SpaceX and AT&T.

EchoStar agreed to sell 50MHz of spectrum in the 3.45GHz and 600MHz bands to AT&T for around $23 billion in August last year. This was followed in a month later by a $17 billion sale of 65MHz of AWS-4 and H-block spectrum licences to SpaceX.

AT&T, which is already using the spectrum in question to improve its network performance for mobile and fixed wireless access (FWA) customers under a licencing deal with EchoStar, will be required to accelerate its 600MHz network deployment.

SpaceX, on the other hand, has received FCC waivers that would allow it to use the spectrum for terrestrial, space-based, or hybrid services.

EchoStar’s spectrum saga, perhaps confusingly, has its origins in the 2020 merger of T-Mobile and Sprint.

As part of the deal’s regulatory conditions, EchoStar’s sister company Dish Mobile agreed to buy Sprint’s mobile virtual network operator Boost Mobile, pledging to become the fourth national mobile operator (MVNO). It soon became clear, however, that this was merely a pipe dream, with Dish failing to build the required network infrastructure and struggling under substantial debt.

Ultimately, this led to EchoStar merging with Dish in 2023, with the move largely seen as an attempt to balance the books for both companies. EchoStar was thus left with a large tranche of spectrum that it would struggle to use.

The spectrum sale, therefore, represents a significant financial lifeline for EchoStar. In September, EchoStar said it expects to hold around $24.1 billion in total cash after the deal, which it will use to repay debt.

Following the deal, EchoStar will still offer mobile services to customers via a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) agreement with AT&T.

Keep up to date with all the latest news with the Total Telecom newsletter

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Sparkle Signs MoU with NaiTel and iLevant to Build a New Digital Corridor Connecting Europe with Asia

Rome, 14th of May 2026

Sparkle, the first international service provider in Italy and among the top global operators, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NaiTel, the telecom arm of Aqaba Digital Hub, and iLevant Ltd, to extend the GreenMed submarine cable system through the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, supporting the development of a new digital connectivity corridor linking Europe and Asia.

Under the agreement, the parties will work to integrate the GreenMed subsea with terrestrial fiber networks and regional interconnection platforms in Jordan, strengthening connectivity resilience across the Mediterranean and supporting the development of diversified digital infrastructure connecting Europe and Asia.

Jordan, through Aqaba Digital Hub, already serves as a landing point for the BlueMed and the Blue & Raman submarine cable systems, further reinforcing its role as a strategic terrestrial gateway on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).

Eyad Abu Khorma, Founder and CEO of Aqaba Digital Hub, said: “Jordan is uniquely positioned at the intersection of major global connectivity routes linking Europe and Asia. The extension of GreenMed toward Jordan represents a natural next step in strengthening diversified and resilient digital infrastructure across the region. We are pleased to continue our collaboration with Sparkle, a leading global operator, on advancing a new digital corridor that integrates subsea and terrestrial networks, further reinforcing Jordan’s role as a strategic gateway connecting Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Enrico Bagnasco, CEO of Sparkle, commented: “This agreement marks a further milestone in the development of GreenMed and confirms the strength of our long-standing collaboration with NaiTel and iLevant. Expanding the system across Jordan enables the connection of strategic digital ecosystems and fosters new development opportunities across the Mediterranean region and beyond.”

GreenMed has received funding from the European Commission under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme.

 

About Sparkle

Sparkle is TIM Group’s global operator, first international service provider in Italy and among the top worldwide, offering a full range of infrastructure and global connectivity services – capacity, IP, SD-WAN, colocation, IoT connectivity, roaming and voice – to national and international Carriers, OTTs, ISPs, Media/Content Providers, and multinational enterprises. As a leading player in the submarine cable industry, Sparkle owns and manages a network of more than 600,000 km of fiber stretching across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Americas, and Asia. Sparkle’s sales team has a global presence, with representatives in 32 countries.

Find out more about Sparkle following its X and LinkedIn profiles or visiting the website tisparkle.com

 

About NaiTel

NaiTel is the telecom arm of Aqaba Digital Hub and a licensed telecom operator in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. NaiTel focuses on the development of telecommunications infrastructure and connectivity platforms, including fiber networks, peering services through AqabaIX, and international connectivity solutions, supporting regional digital ecosystems. Through its infrastructure and strategic initiatives, NaiTel enables carriers, digital platforms, and enterprises to access resilient connectivity across Jordan and the wider region.

Find out more about NaiTel by following its LinkedIn profile or visiting the website naitel.jo

 

About Aqaba Digital Hub
Aqaba Digital Hub is MENA’s leading digital infrastructure provider and the home of Jordan’s largest carrier-neutral, AI-ready data center. Its services include fiber internet, Jordan’s fastest-growing Internet exchange point (IXP), cloud platforms, VSAT, and subsea cable landing facilities, among others. ADH enables enterprises and technology providers to scale operations, accelerate digital services, and expand their regional impact.

Through its platform, ADH connects businesses to key partners and opportunities, ensuring competitive advantages in a dynamic digital landscape. Its commitment to innovation and sustainability drives forward-looking solutions, reinforcing Aqaba’s role as a premier connectivity hub. Find out more about ADH by following its LinkedIn profile, emailing us at info@adh.jo, or visiting our website at http://www.adh.jo.

 

About iLevant Limited

iLevant Limited is an international consultancy and advisory firm specializing in digital infrastructure, connectivity strategy, and technology-driven solutions. The company supports telecommunications operators, infrastructure providers, and investors in the planning, development, and implementation of large-scale connectivity and digital infrastructure projects across global markets.

 

 

Sparkle Media Contacts:

sparkle.communication@tisparkle.com

X: @TISparkle

 

Naitel Media Contacts:

info@adh.jo

 

 

Via Africa: Consortium announces new subsea cable project

Press Release

Investors including Canalink, GUILAB, International Mauritania Telecom, Orange Group, Orange Côte d’Ivoire, Sonatel, Silverlinks, announce the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to initiate the Via Africa submarine cable project, confirming a shared ambition to develop international connectivity, to support traffic growth and to strengthen the resilience of networks across the African continent.

This brand-new system aims to connect Europe to South Africa — including landing points in the United Kingdom, France and Portugal — with destinations along the Atlantic coastline such as the Canary Islands, Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria, with extensions further south supporting increased connectivity diversity and improved resilience for countries along the route.

A consortium-based subsea infrastructure

The Via Africa system is managed as a consortium, enabling participating partners seeking autonomy and sovereignty to co-invest in the infrastructure and take part in its governance. This robust and proven model allows investors to participate directly in the decisions regarding the design, deployment and exploitation of the system and contribute to decisions that best meet their needs. The initial telco and digital player partners are open to additional partners potentially joining the project in the future.

Enhancing resilience and connectivity diversity across Africa

The new open cable project is designed to contribute to greater diversity and resilience of international connectivity serving Africa, by providing a different subsea route than existing infrastructure and strengthening the robustness of regional connectivity.

Next steps for the project

As part of the initial phase of the project, consortium members will jointly finance a cable route study to identify the optimal cable route that balances resilience, technical feasibility and overall economic efficiency.

In parallel, the consortium is preparing the procurement process for selecting a cable supplier, marking the next step in the development of the system.

The submarine cable industry is evolving rapidly. Join the discussion at Submarine Networks EMEA, the world’s most important subsea cable event

BT launches enterprise voice control service UC Edge

Press Release

New single voice communication layer reduces complexity and costs for multinational organisations as they evolve their AI-powered workplace collaboration strategies.
BT International today announced the launch of UC Edge, a new managed service that gives multinational organisations’ CIOs a simpler, more flexible solution to manage their rapidly evolving AI-powered workplace collaboration strategies.
Many multinational organisations rely on a patchwork of collaboration solutions inherited through mergers and acquisitions or selected to meet different regional business needs, including sovereignty — be that data sovereignty, operational sovereignty or technical sovereignty. This mix of technologies can slow down transformation, increase costs and leave IT teams wrestling with complex, overlapping systems.
Now live, with initial customer deployments in highly regulated industries, UC Edge cuts through all of that. It lets organisations add or change AI-powered collaboration solutions and platforms quickly without restarting procurement or rebuilding compliant voice services.
An expansion of BT International’s Global Voice platform, it brings voice, collaboration and number management into one, vendor agnostic service. It works seamlessly across collaboration platforms, contact centre solutions and SIP services. IT teams can tailor the experience for each user, team or country while managing all their collaboration services through a single model.
Built as a single global communication layer, UC Edge’s intelligent voice routing automatically directs calls to the correct platform — no manual number alignment, no portal changes, no routing requests. IT teams can also move users between platforms with zero disruption and far less operational effort.
Denise Lund, IDC Research vice president worldwide UC&C and telecom, said: “As multinational organisations modernise their communications, they increasingly demand the flexibility to adopt best-of-breed and vendor-agnostic collaboration solutions that align with diverse business and regulatory needs. BT International’s UC Edge empowers enterprises to seamlessly integrate and manage multiple platforms, reducing complexity while enabling choice and agility.”
Matt Swinden, managing director of strategy & product at BT International, said: “Many multinationals are juggling legacy collaboration platforms, regional needs or simple user preference. With UC Edge, customers get one contract, one commercial model and one global product delivered seamlessly — giving them the freedom to use the platforms they want without the integration burden. So, when users ask: ‘Can we talk?’ the answer will always be ‘Yes!’”

US moves closer to banning some foreign-made phones


News

The FCC is moving closer to banning the recognition of device testing labs and certification bodies in foreign nations without reciprocity agreements.

By Brad Randall, Broadband Communities

New rules being considered by the Federal Communications Commission could have big impacts on the future of electronic devices in the United States.

Under one of the rules, the FCC is considering banning the recognition of device testing labs in nations without a reciprocal trade agreement, an announcement from the agency said last month.

Labs not in compliance with the proposed rules would be phased out within two years if the rules are eventually adopted, the FCC said.

Conversely, the FCC also adopted rules that streamline the approval process for devices testing in U.S. labs or in nations with signed mutual trade agreements.

“The order would also adopt a range of other measures to promote the integrity of the equipment authorization system: require the disclosure of the location and number of employees engaged in FCC-recognized testing, improve the FCC’s post-market surveillance procedures, strengthen enforcement mechanisms, and establish confidential reporting channels for industry participants to raise concerns about violations or national security threats,” the FCC said.

The moves build upon the FCC’s efforts in March, when the agency placed foreign made routers on the FCC’s list of products deemed to pose unacceptable security risks.

Since adopting that rule, the FCC has since taken action to withdraw or deny recognition to, twenty-three facilities deemed “bad labs” by the agency, according to the FCC’s April 30 release.

At the time, the move was billed as in line with President Donald Trump’s strategy for national security, announced in 2025.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is due to visit China this week, with published reports saying he is set to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday.

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Billionaire Xavier Niel offloads Proximus stake

News

Niel has reduced his holding in the company to less than 0.1%

French billionaire Xavier Niel, owner of Iliad Group, has sold his roughly 6% stake in Belgian telco Proximus, according to a recent filing.

Assuming Proximus’s recent share price of €6.56, the deal would have netted Niel around €135 million.

Niel acquired his roughly 6% stake in the business in late 2023 via his Irish holding company Carraun, praising the operator’s networks and competitive positioning.

By 2025, reports suggested that Niel had proposed a shared ownership model with the Belgian government – Proximus’s largest stakeholder with around 53% ownership. According to those reports, this deal would have seen the government retain the chairmanship of the board, with Niel appointed CEO and given the possibility of increasing his stake in future.

The deal was ultimately rejected by the state, which was likely viewed the deal as something of a soft takeover.

For years, Niel had previously made no secrets of his ambitions to launch his challenger brand Free in the Belgium market, one of the most expensive telecoms markets in Europe. Responding to a 2024 post on X bemoaning the country’s high prices, Niel said he was all for it, saying “it’s your government that doesn’t want it” (translated).

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”fr” dir=”ltr”>Moi je suis chaud, c’est votre gouvernement qui veut pas <a href=”https://t.co/iwJ2QbXuhR

&mdash » rel= »nofollow »>https://t.co/iwJ2QbXuhR”>https://t.co/iwJ2QbXuhR</a></p>&mdash; Xavier Niel (@Xavier75) <a href=”October » rel= »nofollow »>https://twitter.com/Xavier75/status/1979549525816594492?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>October 18, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js&#8221; charset=”utf-8″></script>

Now, with the Belgian government’s attitude seemingly unchanged, Niel has decided to turn his attention elsewhere. One such location is surely Chile, where Niel’s NJJ Holding teamed up with Millicom to purchase Telefónica’s local unit earlier in the year.

With Brussels unwilling to loosen its grip on the former incumbent, Niel appears to have concluded that Belgium’s telecom market remains easier to complain about than to crack.

Keep up to date with all the latest news with the Total Telecom newsletter

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SoftBank to build its own batteries for AI data centres

News

The new unit will support SoftBank’s expansive AI data centre ambitions

In a press release issued today, Japanese conglomerate SoftBank has announced the creation of a new battery storage business operating under its mobile network operator unit, SoftBank Corp.

The standalone unit will work on both the technical development of battery technologies, as well as their manufacture.

To do this, the new unit has partnered with a pair of South Korean businesses – Cosmos Lab and DeltaX Co. – with whom they will collaborate on the technology.

Cosmos Lab specialises in battery cell technology, most notably zinc-halogen batteries that use pure water as their electrolyte, removing the flammability risk associated with lithium-ion batteries.

DeltaX Co. is an energy storage system manufacturer that builds ‘next-generation’ battery cells

The battery business unit will be focussed alongside SoftBank’s AI Data Center that is in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture. Here, SoftBank is planning to set up two new sites: the AX Factory, focussed on AI data centre operations and AI infrastructure hardware manufacturing, and the GX Factory, a manufacturing hub for next-generation batteries, solar panels, and related products.

The company is aiming to deploy a plant with battery capacity of one gigawatt-hour per year, which could expand to multiple gigawatt-hours per year in future.

Even at just one gigawatt-hour per year, the deployment would already be one of the largest battery plants in Japan.

Initial production is expected to begin in March 2028, with mass production targeted for 2029.

Initially, the batteries produced will be used to support SoftBanks own AI data centres, but in future will expand to offering the batteries to commercial customers. These could include “grid applications in Japan, as well as for factories and other industrial uses, as well as for residential use, with a view to expanding into global markets over the medium term”, according to the company.

In total, SoftBank is aiming for the business to generate around ¥100 billion (US$637 million) in annual revenues by the end of the decade.

Keep up to date with all the latest news with the Total Telecom newsletter

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Ooredoo and du to land FIG cable in the UAE

Press Release

Ooredoo Group today announced a partnership with du, the leading telecom and digital services provider, to land the Fibre in the Gulf (FIG) subsea cable system in the UAE, marking further progress in the development of a high-capacity international connectivity platform designed to support the region’s growing data and digital infrastructure requirements.

FIG is the largest subsea cable system ever built in the GCC, designed to deliver an unprecedented capacity of up to 720Tbps across 24 fibre pairs. The system is being developed to meet sustained demand from hyperscalers, cloud providers, AI platforms and data centre operators, enabling efficient, low-latency data flows across Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and Oman.

The project is led by Ooredoo Fibre Networks (OFN), a recently established independent entity created to manage and scale Ooredoo Group’s international connectivity and subsea infrastructure investments, under the leadership of its CEO, Khalid Al Hamadi.

The UAE landing at du’s cable station adds further depth to the system’s architecture, supporting more diversified data routing and strengthening the overall efficiency of regional and intercontinental connectivity between the Middle East, Europe and Asia.

Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo, Group CEO, Ooredoo, said: “FIG reflects our continued focus on building high-capacity, resilient connectivity infrastructure aligned with how demand is evolving. This partnership with du marks another step in the execution of the project. Combined with the progress already made across other landing points, it reinforces the role of international connectivity in supporting the region’s long-term digital growth.”

FIG introduces greater route diversity and redundancy, providing alternative data pathways that strengthen connectivity resilience and support uninterrupted international data flows.

Fahad Al Hassawi, CEO, du said: “Landing the FIG subsea cable in the UAE strengthens our international connectivity capabilities and reinfources the UAE’s position as a leading global hub for data, cloud and AI. Our partnership with Ooredoo enables the scale, resillience and performance required to support hyperscalers, enterprises and digital ecosystems as demand for advanced connectivity continues to grow. This initiative aligns with the UAE’s digital transformation and economic agenda, supporting the nation’s vision to build a globally competitive, knowledge-based digital economy.”

FIG will support the next phase of digital infrastructure development across the region, providing scalable, high-capacity routes for cross-border data exchange and enabling continued growth in cloud, AI and digital services.

The submarine cable industry is evolving rapidly. Join the discussion at Submarine Networks EMEA, the world’s most important subsea cable event