The development of a fibre-optic submarine cable connecting China and Chile will commence in the coming months, following the completion of a technical pre-feasibility study conducted by Chinese vendor Huawei.
July 9, 2017
Chile’s Department of Telecommunications (Subsecretaria de Telecomunicaciones, Subtel) has revealed that the development of a fibre-optic submarine cable connecting China and Chile will commence in the coming months, following the completion of a technical pre-feasibility study conducted by Chinese vendor Huawei. Undersecretary of Telecommunications Rodrigo Ramirez said: ‘We have received this study from Huawei and what is left is to analyse how we are moving towards a stage where, given the complexity of projects of this magnitude, we are in a position to see what feasibility exists.’
The initiative will see the deployment of between 20,000km and 24,000km of fibre-optic infrastructure at a cost of close to USD 650 million. According to the study, the infrastructure could traverse three possible routes: Valparaiso (Chile) to Shanghai (China) via Juan Fernandez, Easter Island, Auckland (New Zealand) and Sydney (Australia); Valparaiso to Shanghai, via Juan Fernandez, Easter Island and Tahiti (French Polynesia); and Punta Arenas (Chile) to Shanghai via Auckland.
