Apollo (cable system)

Apollo is an optical submarine communications cable system crossing the Atlantic Ocean, owned by Apollo Submarine Cable System Ltd (a joint venture between Cable & Wireless Worldwide and Alcatel). It consists of 2 segments North and South, creating two fully diverse transatlantic paths.

In early 2006, Level 3 Communications announced its purchase of 300 Gbit/s of capacity between Apollo North and Apollo South with an option to purchase up 300 Gbit/s of future capacity. This acquisition gives Level 3 a transatlantic path that does not pass through either London or New York City, which is desirable to carriers due to network diversity concerns. This purchase represents the single largest transaction of sub-sea capacity in history without laying new cable.