TAFS & Ciena Interview

1. TAFS is developing a major new digital infrastructure platform across the Americas. What is the vision behind the project, and what gap in the market are you aiming to address?

The vision behind TAFS is to build a new generation of digital infrastructure for the Americas, one that is purpose-built for the way connectivity is being consumed today and will be consumed for decades to come. For too long, parts of Central America and the Caribbean have depended on aging infrastructure, limited capacity and routes that were designed for a very different Internet. The region has grown enormously, but the underlying digital infrastructure has not always kept pace.

We saw an opportunity to change that with the TAM-1 submarine cable system. With more than 7,000 kilometres of subsea routes, 10 landing stations and a design capacity of around 800Tbps, we are building infrastructure that can support AI, cloud expansion, hyperscale growth and the next generation of digital services. Our objective is ultimately very simple: to give the Americas the digital infrastructure it needs to participate fully in the digital economy, while creating more choice, resilience and opportunity for the markets we serve.

2. AI, cloud adoption, and hyperscale growth are accelerating demand for connectivity. How has the TAFS network been designed to meet these requirements, both today and in the decades ahead?

The fundamental design principle was that we should not build a network simply for today's traffic requirements. We needed to build a platform that can evolve with demand. AI and cloud are changing the scale and location of data flows. That means networks need significantly more capacity, but they also need low latency, resilience and the ability to scale without having to rebuild the underlying infrastructure.

That is why TAM-1 combines new direct routes with an architecture that allows customers to increase capacity as their requirements grow. The system provides an estimated 800Tbps, while its open and scalable architecture allows capacity to evolve with the technology deployed at the ends of the system. This is particularly important for AI. We don't know exactly what the network requirements of AI will look like ten or twenty years from now, but we know they will be substantially greater. So, we have designed TAM-1, and the wider network, to provide the underlying infrastructure and flexibility to grow with that demand. Our objective is future-proof scalability: build the infrastructure once and continue increasing what it can deliver as technology and customer requirements evolve.

3. TAM-1 is a multi-landing, high-fiber-count subsea system. What does this scale mean for customers operating across the region?

The scale is significant because it changes the economics and the possibilities for customers in the region. TAM-1 has 36 fiber pairs, 24 on the southern system and 12 on the northern system. Each fiber pair is designed to support extremely high capacity, and that gives operators a fundamentally different starting point from the legacy systems they have traditionally relied upon. But capacity on its own isn't the whole story. The value comes from combining that scale with multiple landings and diverse routes across the US, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. For customers, this means they are no longer constrained by a small amount of capacity on a legacy route. They have the ability to scale their networks, introduce new services, connect data centres and cloud infrastructure, and respond to the growing requirements of enterprises, governments and consumers. It also means we can serve different customers in different ways. Some may want dedicated fiber, others shared spectrum or lit capacity. The platform gives customers the flexibility to choose the level of infrastructure and capacity that fits their requirements and then scale from there. The important point is that TAM-1 gives the region capacity headroom, not just for today's traffic, but for the growth that is coming.

4. TAM-1 has been described as the first fully neutral private subsea system in the region. Why is carrier neutrality important, and what benefits does an open-access architecture provide to carriers, hyperscalers, enterprises, and governments?

Neutrality is one of the most important differences between TAM-1 and many of the systems that have traditionally served the region. Historically, subsea infrastructure has largely been built by telecom consortia or, increasingly, by hyperscalers for their own requirements. That can leave limited infrastructure available to the wider market. The result is that some markets have remained underserved despite growing demand.

TAFS was deliberately structured differently. We are privately funded, but we are carrier neutral and open access. We don't have an incumbent retail or wholesale network in the region that we are trying to protect. That means we can provide infrastructure to carriers, hyperscalers, enterprises and governments without creating a conflict between the infrastructure owner and the customer. For carriers, this offers greater choice and flexibility. For hyperscalers, it provides access to neutral infrastructure in markets where they may not want to build their own systems. For enterprises and governments, it creates access to high-capacity infrastructure without requiring them to make the same level of investment or take on the same operational burden as owning a submarine cable. Most importantly, open access encourages competition, innovation and commercial flexibility. It allows more players to participate in the digital ecosystem rather than concentrating infrastructure in the hands of a few owners.

5. Many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean continue to face challenges around network resilience and route diversity. How does TAM-1 help strengthen regional connectivity while supporting greater digital sovereignty?

Resilience and route diversity were fundamental to the design of TAM-1. Many of the systems serving the region were designed primarily around north-south connectivity to the United States. They were appropriate for the telecom needs of their time, but today's digital economy requires much more connectivity between countries and within the region itself. TAM-1 introduces new, more direct and diverse routes between the US, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. The system has two major legs, and the architecture is designed so that an interruption affecting one leg does not significantly affect the other. That diversity is important because resilience is not simply about having more capacity. It is about having alternative paths when there is a natural disaster or other event.

The design also supports digital sovereignty. Countries should not be dependent on a single route, a small number of infrastructure owners, or having to send regional traffic through the same traditional corridors. By providing greater connectivity between markets within the Americas, TAM-1 helps countries strengthen their own digital infrastructure and gives operators more choice over how they connect their customers. We are effectively adding new roads to the digital map of the Americas and making sure there is more than one road to get where you need to go.

6. Ciena is a key technology partner for the project. What were the biggest technical requirements when designing the network, and why was Ciena's GeoMesh Extreme solution selected to support them?

Ciena's GeoMesh Extreme architecture aligned perfectly with these objectives. It enables a streamlined network design that reduces infrastructure complexity while providing the flexibility to scale capacity as traffic demands evolve. The solution also supports efficient data center-to-data center connectivity and helps maximize the value of the submarine infrastructure by delivering high performance, operational efficiency, and long-term investment protection.

As a result, GeoMesh Extreme allows us to deliver a robust and future-ready network that can adapt to changing customer requirements while maintaining industry-leading reliability.

In addition, and not less important, Ciena’s supply chain has been outstanding in helping us achieve our and our customer’s aggressive time to market goals. So, for us, the choice of Ciena was not simply about achieving a very large high capacity and scalability. We needed a partner that could support us in delivering customer solutions on time.

7. How do technologies such as WaveLogic, advanced SLTE, and Navigator NCS enable TAFS to deliver high-capacity, low-latency services while maintaining the flexibility to scale as demand grows?

Together, WaveLogic 6 Extreme, Ciena's advanced Submarine Line Terminating Equipment (SLTE), and Navigator Network Control Suite (NCS) provide the technological foundation for delivering high-capacity, low-latency services across the TAM-1 network.

A key differentiator is WaveLogic 6 Extreme, which leverages the industry's first 3nm CMOS coherent DSP technology. This innovation provides exceptional processing capability and spectral efficiency, enabling us to maximize capacity on every fiber pair while improving power efficiency and reducing operational costs.

The advanced SLTE optimizes optical performance across the submarine system, while Navigator NCS provides intelligent automation and visibility, simplifying operations and accelerating service delivery.

Combined, these technologies allow TAFS to scale seamlessly as customer demand grows, while maintaining the performance, reliability, and operational efficiency required to support cloud connectivity, AI workloads, content delivery, and the next generation of digital services throughout the Americas.

"Ultimately, these technologies enable us to provide our customers with a scalable, future-ready infrastructure capable of supporting the rapid growth of cloud, AI, content delivery, and digital services throughout the region."

8. TAFS describes TAM-1 as more than a submarine cable—as a broader digital infrastructure platform. What does that mean in practice, and what new services and opportunities does this create for customers?

It means that we are not simply building a cable and selling capacity on it. We are building an infrastructure platform that gives customers different ways to access and use that capacity, depending on their requirements. The traditional subsea model has often been based around large carriers buying long-term capacity or fiber rights. That can create a significant barrier for regional ISPs, enterprises, governments and other customers that may need high-capacity connectivity but don't necessarily want to own or operate a fiber pair. We wanted to change that model.

Our customers can access the network through a range of services, including dark fiber, shared spectrum, lit capacity and managed optical fiber network services. That gives them the flexibility to choose what they need today and then increase or change their requirements as their business evolves. This is particularly important as cloud, AI and hyperscale requirements continue to grow. A customer might initially need a relatively modest amount of capacity, but over time that requirement can increase dramatically. Our open architecture means they can scale without having to rebuild the underlying subsea infrastructure.

And the opportunity goes beyond connectivity itself. By creating high-capacity, resilient routes into and across the region, we are helping create the conditions for data centres, cloud services, edge computing and eventually more localized AI infrastructure to develop. So, for me, the distinction is important: TAM-1 is the physical backbone, but TAFS is building the digital platform around that backbone. Our goal is to make that infrastructure accessible, flexible and scalable enough to support the entire digital ecosystem across the Americas.

9. Beyond connectivity, TAFS has highlighted its commitment to reducing the digital divide across underserved regions. How do you see the company contributing to economic development, education, healthcare, and broader digital inclusion?

For us, this has always been about much more than putting a cable on the seabed. Central America and the Caribbean have been underserved by digital infrastructure for decades. Today, connectivity is fundamental to economic development, government services, healthcare, education and almost every part of modern society.

Our role is to provide the infrastructure that allows those opportunities to develop. When you bring reliable, high-capacity and lower-latency connectivity into an underserved market, you create the foundation for businesses to expand, cloud services to grow, fintech and e-commerce to develop, and people to access education and healthcare more effectively. We also think about this in terms of sustainability. We want to maximise the use of existing infrastructure through our partnerships, while ensuring that the new infrastructure we build is designed and operated responsibly. Ultimately, digital inclusion means giving people and businesses the same opportunity to participate in the digital economy regardless of where they live. That is the long-term impact we want TAFS to deliver.

10. Looking ahead to TAM-2 and future expansion plans, what is your long-term vision for the digital ecosystem across Latin America and the Caribbean, and what opportunities do you believe this will unlock for the region and beyond?

TAM-1 is the beginning of the platform, not the end of the journey. Our long-term ambition is to connect as many markets and communities across Latin America and the Caribbean as possible. TAM-2 is an important next step, extending connectivity from Panama towards the Pacific side of South America, including Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile. We are also looking at further Caribbean expansion and opportunities to connect additional islands and communities. But the vision goes beyond simply adding more cable. As connectivity expands, it creates the foundation for a broader digital ecosystem, data centres, edge infrastructure, cloud services and eventually localized AI access points. The cable becomes the platform on which other digital infrastructure can develop.

Our ambition is to build a genuinely connected Americas, where countries are not isolated digital markets but part of a much more integrated ecosystem. And we will expand deliberately. We need to understand where the demand is, work with the right local partners and make sure each investment strengthens the platform we are building. Ultimately, our goal is simple: connect more people, connect more markets and create the digital infrastructure that allows the next generation of economic growth across the Americas to happen.