Members of the CELIA consortium have introduced CELIA, a new high-capacity ‘express’ cable in the Caribbean region connecting Aruba, Martinique, Antigua, Puerto Rico, and Boca Raton in Florida, United States.
The new cable using the latest submarine fiber optic technologies, known as CELIA, Caribbean ELIte Alliance, will span over 3700 km and link key points in the Caribbean and North America, featuring a minimum of 8 fiber pairs, offering a minimum of 22 Terabits per second per fiber pair, and providing an initial estimated capacity of more than 170 Tbps.
CELIA is expected to go live in the third quarter of 2027.
The members of the CELIA consortium are SETAR as the landing partner in Aruba, Orange as the landing partner in Martinique, Telxius as the landing partner in Puerto Rico and Boca Raton, U.S., while also offering 24/7 monitoring and security from its Network Operations Centers (NOC), and APUA as the landing partner in Antigua.
Alcatel Submarine Networks has been selected as the end-to-end supplier for the submarine cable infrastructure, connecting CELIA between the landing partners. The contract is already in force including options to increase capacity and to add new landing points.
CELIA will enhance connectivity in the Caribbean region, providing high-capacity and secure data transfer and very high Internet speeds with low latency to support the region’s increasing digital demand along this strategic route offering high quality of service.
Furthermore, investments such as CELIA ensure that the islands are connected to the worldwide data networks.
The CELIA project incorporates high standards for environmental protection and biodiversity preservation in both terrestrial and marine neutral habitats at every stage of the project.
The route selection and various infrastructures have been carefully studied to bypass the most sensitive areas and to apply the least invasive technologies. The consortium will work closely with NGOs and local authorities to ensure the preservation of ecosystems and the prosperity of local communities.