The Apollo submarine cable system consists of two of the most advanced transatlantic fibre optic cables, and is one of the highest capacity cable systems across the Atlantic with an unparalleled track record of reliability.
Our customers include the world’s leading telecommunications and internet companies and the range of bandwidth intensive companies taking advantage of Apollo's first class network architecture is always growing.
The network incorporates multiple fibre pairs throughout its 13,000 km length and offers point to point 10Gbps and 100Gbps wavelengths between the major cities and carrier points of presence (POPs) on the US Eastern seaboard and Western Europe, but lower capacities are also available. Apollo North connects the United Kingdom and the USA and Apollo South directly connects France and the USA.
Apollo provides services on an IRU basis and shorter term leases. We are able to provide draw down deals over extended periods. Most of our customers establish a master services agreement with us upon which subsequent capacity can be drawn down.
The network is owned and operated by Apollo Submarine Cable System Limited, a Vodafone Group Limited Company.
Routing
Apollo was designed and built to deliver bandwidth between London and New York and bandwidth between Washington DC and Paris via two linear paths. This architecture was implemented to support Apollo's customers in the creation of the robust networks. Apollo operates four cable stations in three countries, one in the United Kingdom, one in France and two in the United States. This design maximises the route separation of Apollo's submarine cables giving Apollos' customers the security of full diversity.
Cable Station Access
Our principal access points are at the following addresses although we can deliver to a number of European carrier hotels on the Vodafone European network, including Frankfurt, Amsterdam etc.
| United States | United Kingdom | France |
| 111/8th Avenue, New York | Telehouse West, East, North | Global Switch |
| 60 Hudson Street, New York | Global Switch | Interxion |
| 165 Halsey, New Jersey | Telecity, Harbour Exchange | SFR Netcenter |
| 2100 M Street, Washington DC | Cable station in Cornwall | Telehouse 1, 2 and 3 |
| Equinix, Ashburn | Equinix, Slough | Equinix, Paris |
| US cable stations in Long Island and New Jersey |
Latency and Round Trip Delay
| Route | Latency (ms) | Round Trip Delay (ms) |
| London – New York | 34.95 | 69.90 |
| Paris – Washington | 38.55 | 77.10 |
| Paris – New York | 37.00 | 74.00 |
| Apollo North Cable Station – Cable Station |
30.90 | 61.80 |
| Apollo South Cable Station – Cable Station |
32.65 | 63.30 |
Colocation
Apollo's landing stations are highly specified telecom buildings, all newly built at the time of the company's creation. They provide first class space, power, security and first line support and are well provided with backhaul networks.
A number of customers have used Apollo landing stations to install their own network equipment enabling them to manage their own terrestrial backhaul.
Both the EIG and Glo-1 cable systems share the Apollo North UK Cable Station. This allows for seamless, economic and efficient interconnection between cable systems thereby avoiding unnecessary backhaul cost, latency and risk. The Apollo cable can effortlessly extend capacity from Europe, Africa and Asia to North America.
Apollo is present in a number of the principal carrier hotels in Washington, New York, Paris and London.
Performance Data
Apollo's objective is to achieve the best performance statistics for an unprotected, city-to-city system across the Atlantic. From the initial design and throughout our service life, Apollo has utilised comprehensive planning, engineering and operational measures including:
Apollo undertakes a continuous investment programme in its network so as to enhance and improve the network performance.
Apollo has the resilient high transatlantic capability in service today. It is the foundation that underpins the networks of many of the world's largest carriers and ISP's.
Operations
The Apollo cable system is an optically amplified network, which uses submerged repeaters to provide direct amplification to overcome the optical fibre attenuation. Each repeater has eight amplifiers, two required for every fibre pair. In addition, to provide the required availability, Apollo repeaters have redundant optical pumps and fully duplicated power units. The Apollo cable system conforms to ITU specifications and is designed to provide an error performance with an order of magnitude greater than G.826.
As Apollo South connects France and Washington D.C., it avoids heavily congested areas in the UK and in New York. This is a major differentiator, making the southern leg a favoured route choice for Apollo's customers.
Network Operations Centre (NOC)
Fully Diverse Operation Ensures Continuity of Operations
Submarine Cable Management
Activations
Information for fisherman
Apollo is committed to safe environmental practices, most importantly, ensuring that any risks to fishermen are minimised.
Where the waters are shallow, there can be a risk that fishing boats may dredge and unearth a previously buried cable. If fishing gear is caught on a cable, it can potentially put a crew and boat in serious danger.
Apollo continues to emphasise safety by making charts available to fishermen showing the location of the Apollo cables. To assist in the distribution of charts, Apollo regularly sends representatives to visit ports and talk to skippers.
Contact us
For Fault Reporting contact the Apollo NOC.
Email:ApolloNOC@vodafone.com
Visit Vodafone for Business to learn more about our submarine cable systems.
Vodafone Carrier Services manages the commercial relationships with over 1,000 communications service providers globally and offers a broad portfolio of voice, network connectivity, and messaging services.
Vodafone has one of the most reliable and wide-reaching global networks that spans across and between Europe, North America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific. It is ranked in the Top 10 Global Internet Providers and for the fourth consecutive year is the world’s largest international voice carrier.
Through a single connection to Vodafone, a service provider can support its worldwide communication needs and access the unrivalled scale and reach of Vodafone’s network, benefiting from the same quality management used to support its own global customers.
