Liberty Networks has announced that Sparkle, a submarine cable operator and subsidiary of Telecom Italia, will join as a new partner to collaborate on the construction and commercialization of MANTA. Liberty Networks and network partner Gold Data previously announced a partnership to combine their subsea systems, GD-1 and LN-1. The parties have agreed to rename the system MANTA with the new partnership. Sparkle will join Liberty Networks and Gold Data on the northern portion of MANTA, connecting the USA to Mexico, and will join Liberty Networks on the southern portion, accessing Panama and Colombia.
The MANTA subsea system will be the first international submarine cable in the Gulf of Mexico, connecting Mexico and the USA with Central and Latin America. The system is estimated to be 5,600km long and designed to support a minimum of 20Tb per fiber pair. With new landing access points in Veracruz, Mexico, and Apalachee, Florida, the MANTA system aims to improve traffic flow in the region by providing new low-latency routes to interconnect major data hubs in Mexico City, Queretaro, Bogota, and Panama City with the USA. The new subsea cable system, MANTA, is expected to be operational by 2027.
Ray Collins, SVP, Infrastructure and Corporate Strategy, Liberty Latin America
We are excited that Sparkle is joining with Gold Data and ourselves to deliver this critical infrastructure that will completely revolutionize connectivity across the region for decades to come. MANTA represents our ongoing commitment to facilitating seamless connectivity across the Caribbean and Latin America region with a reliable and resilient solution focused on the future of data traffic.
Enrico Bagnasco, CEO, Sparkle
MANTA will establish the foundation for future innovations that drive digital acceleration throughout the region. We are thrilled to collaborate with Liberty Networks and Gold Data on this groundbreaking project. MANTA will establish the foundation for future innovations that drive digital acceleration throughout the region. Together, we are committed to building a new pan-regional subsea cable system that meets the growing demands of businesses and customers across the region.
