CVG and Cubatel activate backbone extension

Venezuelan state-owned telco CVG Telecom and Cuban vendor Cubatel have lit a fibre-optic cable connecting the Venezuelan cities of Santa Elena de Uairéna and Puerto Ordaz, reports BNamericas. The deployment is part of a cooperation between Venezuela and Cuba to add Bolívar state to Venezuela’s national backbone. The project, called Troncal Sur de Fibra Óptica, provides telephony, internet access, cable TV and VoIP services in Venezuela’s southern states. The infrastructure is also expected to reduce the cost of traffic between Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil. Last week, CVG Telecom and Cuban enterprise Transbit announced a plan to build an undersea fibre-optic cable connecting Venezuela with countries in the Caribbean. The cable is expected to run around 1,552km from La Guaira in northern Venezuela to Siboney in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba, and will be capable of carrying 20 million simultaneous telephone calls.