Ciena and Trans America Fiber System (TAFS) are partnering to deploy a fiber network linking the U.S. with Central America and the Caribbean.

Touted by the firms as the first scalable, carrier‑neutral fiber network “in decades” to connect the markets, the TAM‑1 submarine cable is designed to provide a total capacity of more than 650 Tb/s, configured with 24 fiber pairs traveling south and 12 fiber pairs traveling north.

Ciena will provide its GeoMesh Extreme solution for the project, an end-to-end submarine and terrestrial network framework, with its open architecture touted by the firms as supporting spectrum sharing and dynamic scalability.

GeoMesh Extreme incorporates the 6500 Reconfigurable Line System (RLS), as well as the WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e) coherent optics solution, which was recently tapped by Norway’s Altibox for a 1.6-Tb/s subsea transmission.

Spanning 7,200 km and featuring landing points across the Americas via Mexico, Colombia, and other regions, the TAM-1 system is built with two diverse subsea routes to ensure network resilience and provide low-latency connectivity. With the build, the firms expect to support the bandwidth needs of AI, cloud, 5G, edge computing, and enterprise services in the region.

“Trans Americas Fiber System’s TAM-1 cable system is designed to provide seamless and reliable connectivity across the trans-Americas region,” said Thomas Soerensen, VP of global submarine solutions, Ciena. “Leveraging Ciena’s GeoMesh solution and optical networking expertise, TAM-1 will be poised to power the region’s surging bandwidth demands driven by cloud, video streaming, AI, and more.”

“We are leading a new generation of fluid connectivity for the Americas, one that redefines how networks are built, accessed, and scaled,” added Julio Bran, CEO of TAFS. “TAM-1 is designed to disrupt the status quo, and together we are setting a new standard for connectivity in the region.”

Ciena’s TAFS deal follows the recent deployment of its coherent technology across the U.S. by Comcast, in a partnership designed to help broaden fiber connectivity in underserved areas.

Ciena’s optical technology suite was also recently used by Vietnamese carrier Viettel as part of its 5G buildout, while Telstra International utilized Ciena's WL6e as part of its Asia Pacific subsea cable and backhaul network, adding a reported 200 Tb/s capacity with the tech.