FAQ
1. What type of customers does Sea Fibre Networks (SFN) deal with?
SFN is a carrier neutral dark fibre provider with specific emphasis on sub-sea dark fibre. The company deals with the following:
- Service Providers who have their own sub-sea fibre and wish to complement, strengthen or replace their own fibre.
- Service Providers who do not have their own sub-sea fibre and now wish to move from managed bandwidth to lighting their own fibre
- Large Corporate customers who wish to create their own fibre networks.
2. I want to expand my company's footprint into the Irish market but don't have terrestrial network. How can SFN assist me design my network?
SFN has strategic partnerships with most of the carriers in Ireland and can provide seamless dark fibre connection to any fibred location in the country. Alternatively SFN can assist a company by providing details on other fibre providers and their networks.
3. What does carrier-neutral mean?
Carrier-Neutral means that SFN will deal with any suitable licenced operator for the provision of dark fibre services as the company operates in the wholesale sector rather than the retail sector.
4. How did SFN form?
SFN was set up four years ago to exploit the growth in dark fibre demand and the lack of supply and rollout of new sub-sea network across the Irish Sea. The founders have all been involved in the telecoms sector over the past 20 years in the areas of terrestrial backhaul and metro networks, sub-sea cables and datacentres.
5. Do SFN own terrestrial network or just sub-sea?
SFN’s core business is the development and operation of sub-sea fibre networks. However, SFN does own its own backhaul and does own and construct terrestrial network where existing networks are inadequate, lacking in capacity or do not exist. SFN utilises open access network Fibrespeed to connect into its own exchange at Halmer End called the Staffordshire Gateway. This highly strategic gateway facilitates dark fibre connections northwards to Manchester or directly southwards to London over multiple third party dark fibre providers through SFN’s Partner Network Alliance.
6. What is the SFN’s "Partner Network Alliance" ?
SFN provides cross-connectivity from its Cable Landing Station in Dublin to the majority of Dark Fibre Carriers in Dublin to provide fibre cross-connects to any fibred location in Ireland. On the UK side SFN provides cross-connects from its Staffordshire Gateway into the majority of UK national backhaul providers. SFNL is now working on the Fastnet Connect project to link Dublin to Cork in southern Ireland and onwards to France with a spur to the south-west of the UK. Cross-connects to various terrestrial and transatlantic cable networks are also planned.
7. Do SFN assist companies who may not have relationships with third party networks?
Yes. SFN can provide seamless solutions or can assist companies with contact details and networks of other third party providers.
8. Can Sea Fibre Networks cross-connect with major carriers?
Yes. The SFN network is specifically designed to cross-connect with other major carriers. This is particularly important to ensure that customers can avail of a choice of carrier, diversity of routing and competitive pricing.
9. Does SFN facilitate end-to-end solutions?
Yes. SFNL can provide seamless end-to-end solutions tailored to suit customer's demands in areas such as geographic route, latency, carrier choice and cost considerations.
10. What is the total fibre distance to London?
SFNL can provide various routes to London depending on customer criteria. Route lengths of between 700 and 800 km are typical.
11. Why build a cable now?
There are 7 cable systems in operation at present run by 5 operators. The cables were installed between 1996 and 2001. There have been no new cables built in the Irish Sea since 2001 and there is no dark fibre available to meet the current demand. The SFN CeltixConnect cable specifically addresses and resolves all of those issues.
12. What is the capacity of the cable?
The cable provides 72 fibre pairs - more fibre pairs than the 7 existing networks. The fibre is G652d and can support the most modern optical equipment and multiple Xgigabit capacity.
13. Why does CeltixConnect follow a central corridor in the Irish Sea unlike previous cables?
The route was specifically engineered to provide the shortest crossing of the Irish Sea whilst obtaining good cable burial on stable seabed sediments. The route also avoids areas of heavy fishing and other seabed interference. Learn more about our diversity here.
14. Why do this now?
The move by Carriers and large Corporates from multiple bandwidth packages to dark fibre is established and accelerating terrestrially. This is now developing in relation to sub-sea fibre. This, coupled with the age profile and low fibre count of the cables in existence, was a major drive for the project to proceed. Contracts to date and the increasing demand for sub-sea dark fibre have vindicated the project.