Trans-Caspian cable: the terrestrial test starts now
The first fiber across the Caspian is now on the seabed. Its value for Europe and the Balkans will depend on terrestrial diversity, capacity disclosure, and a credible RFS.
6 min read
Industry Analysis · Weekly
Insights
Weekly analysis on DWDM, IP transit, submarine cables, peering, and telecom regulation — written for carrier, ISP and enterprise network decision-makers. Curated by the Sofia Connect team.
The Black Sea cable moves from political commitment to seabed data
The Georgia–Romania Black Sea interconnector has entered marine-survey preparation. Its fiber leg could reshape route diversity, but the telecom product is still undefined.
6 min read
ITU's submarine cable resilience report puts numbers on a problem the industry already knew about
The ITU-ICPC Advisory Body closed two years of work with data: repair response time more than doubled since 2012, and 80%+ of faults are still human-caused.
7 min read
Cable security goes regulatory: Washington and Brussels pick different levers in the same week
In four days, the FCC extended US cable licensing to onshore SLTE and the European Commission funded two Regional Hubs and a €40M repair call. One threat, two logics.
7 min read
800G coherent ships, 1.6T enters the deployment window
LightCounting now expects 800G optical transceiver shipments to more than double in 2026, with 1.6T sales surpassing $2 billion for the first time. For regional carriers, this is the year when the cost-per-bit math for second-generation coherent flips.
4 min read
GreenMed reaches Jordan: a new Mediterranean–IMEC corridor takes shape
Sparkle's MoU with NaiTel and iLevant to extend the GreenMed system into Jordan ties an EU-funded subsea corridor directly into the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor. For SEE carriers, this changes how Europe–Asia traffic will be priced and routed by the late 2020s.
4 min read
Sofia Connect Insights
Weekly analysis on regional telecom infrastructure
DWDM, submarine cables, IP transit, peering, regulation, M&A — one email per week, written for engineers and decision-makers. No marketing.
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