Equinix Builds Momentum as a Critical Partner in Next-Generation Submarine Cable Projects to Accommodate Unprecedented Data Growth

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Sept. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), the global interconnection and data center company, today announced significant momentum in the company's involvement as a strategic partner in submarine cable projects. Equinix's most recent win with the Monet consortium (announced today), represents an industry first for deploying an open submarine cable architecture together with an integrated cable landing station; colocation and interconnection inside a network-dense, multi-tenant data center. In addition to this most recent win, Equinix has been selected as an interconnection partner in more than 10 of the current submarine cable projects, and will provide direct access to an aggregation of networks and clouds at Equinix International Business Exchange™ (IBX^®) data centers that are located in proximity to the coastal termination points. Equinix global IBX data centers are ideal for landing submarine cables, providing a one-stop shop for operators' needs from cable landing station to backhaul and interconnection.  Additionally, Equinix has extended its support model to meet the unique needs of submarine cable systems, supplying a turnkey solution for all the requirements of submarine cables including the cable landing station, power, colocation and interconnection. 

Current submarine cable projects that Equinix is engaged with and has publically announced include:  Southern Cross Cable Network (California - Sydney); Aqua Comms (New York - London); Hibernia Express (New York - London); Cinia (Germany - Finland); Trident (Australia - Indonesia - Singapore); Globenet (Florida - Brazil); Asia Pacific Gateway (China - Hong Kong - Japan - South Korea - Malaysia - Taiwan - Thailand - Vietnam - Singapore); Hawaiki Cable Limited (U.S. – Australia – New Zealand); Gulf Bridge International (Middle East - Europe); FASTER (U.S. West Coast - Japan); Seaborn Networks (New York - Sao Paulo); and Monet (Florida - Brazil), the newest project announced today.

Highlights / Key Facts

• Hosting Monet's Florida cable landing equipment directly into Equinix's MI3 IBX represents a new innovative design in submarine cable infrastructure.  For the cable owners, the deployment will eliminate a separate cable landing station and simplifies network design -- speeding up the deployment and reducing the need for dedicated cable station construction.  For cable users, termination at a multi-tenant data center with rich interconnection opportunities greatly eases onward transport.

• Equinix is collaborating with CSPs and introducing key innovations in submarine cable design and operations that leverage interconnection and data centers. Monet will provide state-of-the-art connectivity technology to enable the development of value-added and new generations of cloud services, including content distribution to the Latin American Market. The new architecture is developed to meet the needs of large CSPs for speed, efficiency and open system design.

• The submarine cable industry is experiencing explosive growth driven primarily by exponential increases in data traffic. According to SubTel Forum, 93,000 miles of cable will be laid in 2016, more than in the last five years combined, and more than three and a half times the circumference of the earth at the equator.  Because most intercontinental Internet traffic traverses submarine cables, a greater proliferation of submarine cables is essential in this digital age, when organizations depend on instant connectivity to people, locations, clouds and data worldwide.

• Cloud growth is driving the surge in data traffic and is the most important factor increasing the importance of submarine cables. Worldwide demand for cloud services is increasing, and telcos are no longer the only companies with a major interest in building and operating submarine networks. Cloud providers and major content companies are now investors in new submarine cables, as the demand for real-time access continues to grow and service providers need to stage content closer to end users.

• Equinix is home to 1,400+ networks and 2,500+ cloud and IT service providers on its global platform across 40 top markets on five continents. This makes it the home of the interconnected cloud and a natural destination for submarine cable systems. Once a company or consortium commits to developing a submarine cable system, they can reach their goals faster by using Equinix as a gateway to the interconnection required by themselves and their customers. Because Equinix is carrier-neutral, submarine system operators can offer excess capacity to customers who otherwise couldn't as quickly or efficiently reach the markets being served by new submarine architecture.

Quote

• Ihab Tarazi, CTO, Equinix:
  "As data traffic continues to grow, from Facebook videos and Instagram selfies to Office 365 sessions and IoT connected devices, there is an unprecedented surge in construction of new submarine cables that currently carry 99 percent of this and all Internet traffic between continents. The investors in these new submarine cable systems, which now include large cloud service providers and content companies, are finding that when these submarine cables terminate on land, Equinix data centers are the optimal location to immediately connect these point to point submarine cables into a single location that directly connects to thousands of networks."

Additional Resources

• Monet Submarine Cable Selects Equinix for Landing Station and Next-Generation Digital Gateway to Latin America [press release]
• Talk of Subsea Cables and the Growing Cloud on Tap at PTC '16 [blog post]
• Cinia Connects to Equinix Data Centers in Frankfurt and Helsinki [press release]
• Equinix Data Centers Anchor Southern Cross Cable Network between Australia and North America [press release]
• AquaComms and Equinix to Create High Capacity Connection between New York and London [press release]
• Equinix Connects Hibernia Express Sub-Sea Cable between New York and London [press release]
• GlobeNet Opens Fastest US – Brazil IP Traffic Route Via Platform Equinix [press release]
• Equinix Supports FASTER Cable System in North America [press release]
• Hawaiki Chooses Equinix for Australian Cable Landing Station [press release]

About Equinix
Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX) connects the world's leading businesses to their customers, employees and partners inside the most interconnected data centers.  In 40 markets worldwide, Equinix is where companies come together to realize new opportunities and accelerate their business, IT and cloud strategies. http://www.equinix.com/.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from expectations discussed in such forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to, the challenges of acquiring, operating and constructing IBX centers and developing, deploying and delivering Equinix services; unanticipated costs or difficulties relating to the integration of companies we have acquired or will acquire into Equinix; a failure to receive significant revenue from customers in recently built out or acquired data centers; failure to complete any financing arrangements contemplated from time to time; competition from existing and new competitors; the ability to generate sufficient cash flow or otherwise obtain funds to repay new or outstanding indebtedness; the loss or decline in business from our key customers; and other risks described from time to time in Equinix's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, see Equinix's recent quarterly and annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which are available upon request from Equinix. Equinix does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.

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SOURCE Equinix