The new subsea cable system will deliver resilient infrastructure and state-of-the-art technology to enhance connectivity and end-user experience in Belize

[Belize City, Belize, August 17, 2016] Huawei and Huawei Marine Networks Co. Ltd. , a global submarine cable network provider - have teamed up with Belize Telemedia Ltd. (BTL) to build an undersea cable system that will connect Belize mainland and San Pedro Island.

The undersea cable, named Strategic Evolution Underwater Link (SEUL), is a key piece to BTL’s promise to modernize its mobile and landline network to significantly improve broadband connectivity and quality across the country. The modernization project includes deploying LTE (4G) mobile service and fiber to residential and businesses buildings (FTTX) in San Pedro, Belize’s largest and fastest growing tourist area.

“We have made it our mission to put Belize in the top three in the region in terms of connectivity and broadband speeds. The Strategic Evolution Underwater Link is another step in achieving our goal, along with the build out of nationwide 4G LTE,” said Anwar Barrow, Chairman of the BTL Executive Committee. “Once again we turn to our technology partner Huawei and Huawei Marine for their experience and expertise on this undersea cable project.”

The SEUL cable will span 24 kilometers, delivering a design capacity featuring 40 channels at 100G per fiber over 8-fiber pairs, which will result in up to 32 Tbit/s. This design solution is both cost-effective and provides flexibility for future capacity upgrades.

The project is scheduled to start this summer, with an expected completion date in Q3 of 2017.

“We are excited to continue our partnership with BLT, this time to construct a next-generation undersea cable system that will use advanced technology to bring fast, reliable and low-cost connectivity to the people of Belize,” said Mike Constable, CEO of Huawei Marine. “Combined with our efforts to launch a nationwide 4G LTE network, this project demonstrates our strong commitment to providing leading-edge, high-speed internet service to all Belizeans and contributing to the social and economic development of the country.”

Earlier this year, Huawei and BTL, under the banner of its DigiCell Mobile brand, announced the roll-out of its nationwide 4G LTE network, expected for launch in December of this year. BTL chose Huawei as its vendor to install DigiCell’s brand new 4G LTE mobile network throughout Belize, enabling BTL to be the first and only telecommunications provider to have this high speed mobile service throughout the country – and at speeds and quality that will ultimately be superior to that of any provider within the country, and among the fastest in the Caribbean & Central American region.