New cable connects Morocco, Spain

Morocco’s Maroc Telecom, part of France’s Vivendi Universal group, has started deployment of the international high speed fiber-optic submarine cable Loukkos between Morocco and Spain.

Service over the cable is expected to begin in March, Moroccan newspaper Le Matin reported.

Maroc is funding the cable deployment for MAD143 million. Once prepared, it will link Asilah, Morocco to Rota, Spain. The 187km cable is being supplied by Alcatel-Lucent unit Alcatel Submarine Networks and CanaLink.

Initial capacity will be 80Gbps, upgradeable to 1.28Tbps. It is designed to add diversity and redundancy to Maroc Telecom’s international traffic routes as well as to cope with increasing demand from broadband service users and the trend for international off-shoring activities, particularly call centers.