ANACOM, in cooperation with the Government, played a fundamental role in the implementation of the new CAM Cable Ring (connection by submarine cable between Mainland Portugal, the Azores and Madeira), and also in equipping the cable ring with environmental seismic detection. The CAM Cable Ring will form part of the domestic branch (a pair of optical fibres between Madeira and the Continent) of the Ellalink submarine cable, which will provide a connection between Europe and South America. This international system will be inaugurated on 1st June.
This was done for the clear benefit of the communications sector and beyond, as the future CAM Cable Ring emerged as a catalyst for discussions about a more comprehensive national strategy. This strategy starts with international connectivity and, as its ultimate objective, sets out to achieve the installation of a Data Hub in Portugal, encompassing the Blue Economy and the Green Economy, with a clear benefit extended to sectors beyond communications, including science, the environment, economy, cohesion and defence.
In light of the above, and taking into account the importance of submarine cables, including in the context of 5G network development, ANACOM is promoting a debate on the relevance of submarine cable systems and the contribution they can make to the development of the economy and society in general. In this context, ANACOM is organising two events that will take place over the next few days.
On the 27th and 28th of May the Conference on International Connectivity and the EU Atlantic Data Gateway Platformhttps://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1621691, organised jointly with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing under the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, aims to strengthen the role of the European Union (EU) as a global digital actor, promoting international connectivity within the EU and between the EU and other continents and regions.
This initiative seeks to promote the sharing of strategies between different national and international stakeholders: network operators, OTTs, data centres, telehouses and IXPs, manufacturers/suppliers of undersea cables and promoters of national and international undersea cable projects. It is expected that plans for new submarine cables to be moored in Portugal will be announced at the conference, along with other projects related to data storage and interconnection, identifying Portugal's contribution to the constitution of the EU Atlantic Data-Gateway Platform.
This conference is open to the public, taking place in the Industrial and Logistics Zone of Sines, as indicated in the programme available on ANACOM's website. Proceedings can also be watched remotely on YouTube (Day 1 https://youtu.be/McYRw7oWR28, 27 May and Day 2
https://youtu.be/d6ReOxrfPGU, 28 May) or, if already registered, by logging on at the event's webpagehttps://anacom-connectivity.2inspire.pt (top right corner - virtual event).
On June 3, starting at 11:30 am, Azores time (12:30 pm in Mainland Portugal), the public event ''Atlantic SMART Cables: Challenges and Opportunities of the CAM Ringhttps://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1630001'' will take place online. The event has been organised by ANACOM in partnership with the Atlantic International Research Centre (AIR Centre) as a side-event to the conference All-Atlantic 2021https://www.allatlantic2021.eu/.
The workshop will address the concept of SMART Cables and discuss the use of submarine telecommunications cables for seismic and environmental monitoring in the context of replacing the Cable Ring that provides interconnection between Mainland Portugal, the Azores and Madeira (CAM). This workshop can be followed remotely, as indicated in the programmehttps://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1630001 available on ANACOM's website, subject to prior registration using this formhttps://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rMEaME-ITqacY-EbFf3Pgg.
