Sparkle joins Liberty and Gold Data on rebranded MANTA cable - Developing Telecoms

Liberty Networks and Gold Data announced on Wednesday that Telecom Italia’s international telecoms arm Sparkle has joined their plan to construct a new subsea cable system – renamed MANTA – connecting the US, Mexico, Panama and Colombia.

The cable project originated in December 2023 when Gold Data decided to combine its planned Gold Data 1 (GD-1) subsea system between Florida and Mexico with a new planned subsea cable (LN-1) from Liberty Networks that would extend GD-1’s reach to Panama and Colombia.

While the two cables are being designed as a single system, the plan has been to operate them as separate segments, with Liberty and Gold Data investing in and operating GD-1 together, while Liberty fully owning the LN-1 leg of the system.

Under the revised plan with Sparkle, the cable has been renamed MANTA. Sparkle will collaborate with Liberty and Gold Data on the northern portion of the system (formerly GD-1), and with Liberty Networks on the southern portion (formerly LN-1).

The 5,600-km MANTA system is designed to support a minimum of 20 Tbps per fibre pair. The system will have two landing points in the US (Apalachee and Miami, both in Florida) and Mexico (Cancun and Veracruz), as well as one each in Cartagena and Panama City.

The MANTA system also features two terrestrial components – one in Mexico running from Veracruz to Mexico City and Queretaro, and the other in Colombia running from Cartagena to Bogota.

In a joint statement, Liberty, Gold Data and Sparkle said the MANTA system aims to improve traffic flow in the region by providing new low-latency routes to interconnect major data hubs in Mexico City, Queretaro, Bogota, and Panama City with the US.

Originally planned to be operational by the second half of 2026, the MANTA cable is now expected to be operational by 2027. No technology providers have been selected yet, but Liberty Networks said that an announcement will be coming soon.