Zayo makes noise to connect UK with continental Europe

BOULDER and LONDON — Boulder-based Zayo Group Holdings Inc. has connected the United Kingdom and continental Europe with its new Zeus subsea route, with access points in Lowestoft, United Kingdom, and Zandvoort, Netherlands. 

To lay this deeply buried cable across the North Sea, it had to make some noise — blowing up some unexploded bombs left over from World War II. According to a press statement, Zayo worked with the Royal Netherlands Navy to detonate an 80-year-old explosive that was in the path of the cable.

“The North Sea is an extremely challenging body of water for a subsea project like Zeus. Not only are there harsh weather conditions and relentless currents, the seabed is littered with items, some as simple as a discarded aluminum can and some as formidable as unexploded bombs left over from the Second World War,” Geir Holmer, CEO of JTD Associates and a consultant on the project, said in a written statement. “Not only did we overcome these challenges, we worked tirelessly with Zayo to ensure this route was built to last — making it the most resilient route across the North Sea.”

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Jesper Aagaard, president of Zayo Europe, said that Zeus sets a new standard for connectivity in the region.

“Zeus is now the strongest connection available in the region. We utilized the best cable available, buried it deeper in the seabed than our competitors and made it even more reliable than alternatives,” he said.

At 192 fibers, Zeus contains the highest fiber count connecting the UK and mainland Europe. The cable was buried between six and nine feet under the seabed in comparison with about 1.5 feet for existing cables. 

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