Orange welcomes SEA-ME-WE-6 submarine cable to Marseille infrastructure

Orange announces the landing in Marseille of the SEA-ME-WE 6 (Southeast Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 6) system, 21,700 km long which will directly connect France to Singapore. The installation of the first part of the system, 3000 km long, towards Egypt will begin immediately after this operation in Marseille.

Designed using the latest submarine optical fiber technologies, this cable will offer very high speed and very low latency, making it possible to meet the growing needs of customers and the digital economy on this strategic route. This new system will offer a capacity of more than 130Tb/s.

Orange is responsible for the “landing party” on French territory and hosts the cable in Marseille in its secure infrastructures, providing access, in a neutral manner, to all the data centers of the Marseille city thanks to an urban fiber ring latest generation optics.

Responsible management of environmental aspects in all stages of the project, from design to deployment

At the heart of its corporate strategy, Orange has a particular attachment to environmental protection and the preservation of biodiversity for all of its infrastructure projects.

Orange thus worked in close collaboration with State services, the Region and all local stakeholders on the route of the Sea-Me-We-6 submarine cable and its landing in Marseille.

Environmental studies and geophysical reconnaissance (notably marine biocenoses) have made it possible to take into account the strong ecological challenges of the most sensitive maritime areas, and in particular the coralligenous zones, Posidonia seagrass beds, and the underwater canyon of Marseille. At certain crossing points, the route has been optimized to best follow the underwater relief and avoid observed species (for example large pearl shells) by preferably using sandy areas. If passing through a sensitive area, the cable will be fixed to the bottom at regular intervals by specially profiled anchors within the Posidonia meadow, in order to avoid chafing phenomena. During landing operations, the cable will pass through already existing infrastructure so as not to create additional impact.

For the subsequent installation operations, the ship will use a reduced speed and particular attention will be paid to preserve the Posidonia meadows.

In situ inspections by divers, and regular environmental monitoring over several years are planned until the cable dismantling operations which will be governed by the administration procedures in force.

“We are delighted with the arrival of this new route which will offer a new high-speed and “express” connectivity solution, efficient between France and Asia, but also better speed to our sites in the Indian Ocean. Beyond that, this new cable will allow us to support over time the growing needs of our customers on this strategic route. Our network will allow our wholesale customers to join numerous international networks in Asia, Africa and the Americas. The arrival of this new cable in Marseille once again places France at the heart of the European platform with direct access to major European cities.” indicates Jean-Louis Le Roux, Director of International Networks at Orange.

Orange is present in more than 40 submarine cables around the world, and more particularly on the Europe-Asia route through its investments in the SEA-ME-WE3, SEA-ME-WE4, SEA-ME-WE5 and IMEWE consortia. The Group is continuing its investment strategy in submarine cable connectivity projects in order to guarantee and constantly improve the quality of service of its global network.

CT Bureau