Aqua Comms announces its first live Trans-Atlantic commercial 400GE service for Energy Sciences Network

DUBLIN, IRELAND–10th May 2023 — Aqua Comms, a leading provider of global subsea connectivity services, today announced its first live commercial 400 Gbps Ethernet (GE) Trans-Atlantic service from London to New York for Energy Sciences Network (ESnet), the high-performance network built to support scientific research, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Science and managed by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).

ESnet’s “data circulatory system” provides services to more than 50 DOE research sites, including the entire National Laboratory system, its supercomputing facilities, and its major scientific instruments, as well as to additional research and commercial networks. Through ESnet, DOE-funded scientists collaborate on some of the world's most important scientific challenges, from the origins of the universe to the future of energy and climate science.

The new 400GE Aqua Comms circuit replaces an existing 100GE Aqua Comms New York–London circuit in ESnet’s network. “100GE has been the standard for most Trans-Atlantic connectivity for several years. The new circuit increases our aggregate Trans-Atlantic bandwidth from 400 Gbps to 700 Gbps,” said Jon-Paul Herron, ESnet’s Department Head of Network Services. “ESnet is actively preparing the network to meet the flood of data coming from all of our upcoming science needs, including the high-luminosity upgrades of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider as well as the related CERN Data Challenge '24 (DC24) during the first quarter of next year.”

The Aqua Comms network utilises Ciena's (NYSE: CIEN) GeoMesh Extreme submarine network solution, powered by WaveLogic 5 Extreme coherent optics and Manage, Control and Plan (MCP) advanced software capabilities, to support customers’ ever-growing connectivity and bandwidth needs.

Chris Bayly,  CCO, Aqua Comms said “We’re proud to be at the forefront of the technology supporting the needs of our customers with high-bandwidth, efficient network services. As super computing requirements continue to grow, we envisage 400Gb/s and the transition to spectrum services being more widely consumed by organisations such as ESnet to help accommodate an almost insatiable need for bandwidth.”

Thomas Soerensen, Senior Director, Global Submarine Sales, Ciena, commented: “With Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme solution, Aqua Comms’ network has the scalability, intelligence, and efficiency to meet the digital demands of clients like ESnet. 400Gb/s capabilities provide a fourfold increase in capacity that’s ideal for high-bandwidth, ‘big science’ applications such as augmented/virtual reality, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence.”

‍About Aqua Comms‍

Aqua Comms is a leading provider of global subsea connectivity services delivered through an extensive portfolio of owned and operated subsea systems. Aqua Comms offers connectivity networking solutions including managed capacity services, spectrum and dark fibre to the global content, cloud and carrier markets.\n\nTo learn more about Aqua Comms and its portfolio of connectivity networking solutions visit www.aquacomms.com.

In April 2021, Aqua Comms DAC was acquired by Digital 9 Infrastructure plc (D9), an LSE listed investment trust managed by Triple Point Investment Management LLP.

From its IPO in March 2021 and subsequent capital raises, DGI9 has raised total equity of £905 million and a revolving credit facility of £375 million, invested into data centres, subsea fibre, terrestrial fibre and wireless networks. Its team has over US$ 300 billion transactional and operational experience in digital infrastructure. The number 9 in Digital 9 Infrastructure comes from the UN Sustainable Development Goal 9, which focuses the fund on investments that increase connectivity globally and improve the sustainability of digital infrastructure.\n\nTo learn more about D9 visit www. https://www.d9infrastructure.com/.