Plan approved to bring super fast undersea internet cable to Blackpool

Plans to enable a super-fast internet cable to come ashore at Blackpool have been approved.
Blackpool Enterprise Zone artists impressionBlackpool Enterprise Zone artists impression
Blackpool Enterprise Zone artists impression

A building to house the cable landing station for the link across the Atlantic Ocean will be constructed on land enclosed by the Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone off Squires Gate Lane.

Fylde Council planners have agreed a planning application for the scheme.

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Technology company Aqua Comms is laying the optic telecoms cable linking Dublin and Blackpool, with a spur to the Isle of Man.

The subsea route is coming across the Atlantic as part of a larger connection between New Jersey on the United State east coast and Denmark.

Documents submitted with the application say: "The aim of the cable is to provide resilience to the North Atlantic telecoms network, offering an alternative fibre connection to the London-New York cables route which have dominated the North Atlantic fibre market to date."

The planning statement adds: "The proposed development will act as a telecoms exchange linking the subsea data traffic to the UK telecoms network, including the data centres operated by Aqua Comms subsea cable customers."

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Business leaders hope the multi-million pound investment will boost chances of attracting data companies to the Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone due to faster communication.

It will take less than 64 milliseconds to transmit data from Blackpool Airport to New York, some 11 milliseconds faster than the best current connections to London and thus providing a competitive advantage.

Called the North Atlantic Loop, the cable is expected to launch by the end of this year.