International subsea cable in the Gulf set to connect Mexico and the USA with Central and Latin America, provide new low-latency routes to key regional data hubs
Miami/Newington/Rome, 17 March 2025
Sparkle, Gold Data and Liberty Networks – the partners behind MANTA, a revolutionary new subsea cable system connecting Mexico and the USA with Central and Latin America – have announced that SubCom has been has been awarded the design, manufacture, and installation of the MANTA system, and the contract entered into force (CIF) today. MANTA aims to improve traffic flow in the region by providing high bandwidth, low-latency routes interconnecting major data hubs in Mexico City, Queretaro, Bogota, and Panama City with the USA utilizing new landing access points in Veracruz, Mexico, and San Blas, Florida.
SubCom will manufacture the fiber optic cable and other optical components for the MANTA system at its campus in Newington, NH, USA using Open Cable specifications, supporting up to 22 Tb/s per fiber pair (FP). All three consortium partners will access the northern portion of MANTA, connecting the USA to Mexico, and Sparkle will join Liberty Networks on the southern portion, accessing Panama and Colombia.
“We are extremely grateful to have reached this significant milestone in the realization of the MANTA subsea cable system,” said Enrico Bagnasco, CEO of Sparkle, Renato Tradardi, CEO of Gold Data and Ray Collins, SVP of Infrastructure and Corporate Strategy at Liberty Latin America in a joint statement. “With this new infrastructure in place and operational, MANTA will address the increasing demands for high-speed connectivity while enhancing data center interconnectivity across the Americas. By providing a robust and reliable network infrastructure, MANTA will play a pivotal role in accelerating digital innovation, empowering businesses, and supporting the next generation of technological advancements.”
Estimated at 5,400 km in length, MANTA consists of an up to 18FP repeatered trunk segment connecting San Blas, Florida with Cartagena, Colombia with branches to Veracruz, Mexico, North Miami, Florida, Cancun, Mexico, Maria Chiquita, Panama plus a stubbed branching unit facing the Cayman Islands for future traffic expansion.
“SubCom is honored to supply and deploy MANTA, which will provide a new reliable and resilient data route to a region that is seeing consistent demand for improved connectivity,” said David Coughlan, CEO of SubCom. “Our capabilities as an advanced technology provider, high-quality manufacturer, and safe and efficient deployment partner will all be on exhibit during this project. We look forward to delivering on the vision of the partners and making MANTA a reality.”
About Sparkle
Sparkle is TIM Group’s Global Operator, first international service provider in Italy and among the top worldwide, offering a full range of infrastructure and global connectivity services – capacity, IP, SD-WAN, colocation, IoT connectivity, roaming and voice – to national and international Carriers, OTTs, ISPs, Media/Content Providers, and multinational enterprises. A major player in the submarine cable industry, Sparkle owns and manages a network of more than 600,000 km of fiber spanning from Europe to Africa and the Middle East, the Americas and Asia. Its sales force is active worldwide and distributed over 33 countries.
Find out more about Sparkle following its X and LinkedIn profiles or visiting the website tisparkle.com
About Gold Data
Gold Data is a multinational, award-winning technology company specializing in telecommunications infrastructure and services. The company provides direct connectivity across the Americas and the Caribbean, interconnecting more than 156 Points of Presence (PoPs) and 76 data centers across 35 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. With a visionary approach to next-generation connectivity, Gold Data leverages its strategic PoPs, diverse subsea capacity, and fully-owned network to deliver comprehensive end-to-end solutions for multinational corporations (MNCs), global carriers, and OTT providers.
For more information, please visit: https://golddata.net/
About Liberty Networks
Liberty Networks is a leading infrastructure and enterprise connectivity provider in Latin America and the Caribbean, connecting approximately 30 countries with nearly 50,000 kilometers of submarine fiber optic cable and 17,000 kilometers of terrestrial networks. At Liberty Networks, we partner with enterprises, carriers, and business communities, leveraging our expansive network infrastructure, next-generation solutions portfolio, and data center network to provide a solid foundation that enables business success across the region. To learn more about Liberty Networks, visit www.libertynet.com and follow us on LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.
About SubCom
SubCom engineers, manufactures, and installs subsea fiber optic data cables – the unsung heroes of global communication. With an unrelenting focus on quality, reliability, and value, SubCom offers flexible end-to-end building blocks for the high-tech networks that are the backbone of the world’s digital infrastructure. Since 1955, SubCom has deployed enough cable to circle the equator more than 21 times. For more information, visit www.subcom.com
Sparkle Media Contacts
sparkle.communication@tisparkle.com
X: @TISparkle
Liberty Networks Media Contacts
Claudia Restrepo
SubCom Media Contacts
Courtney McDaniel
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