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Jacksonville is becoming a main connection point along the network of subsea and terrestrial cables that move data due to its new Network Access Point (NAP) – the telecom industry’s version of a major hub airport or a Tier1-level routing site.

The architecture has been laid in Jacksonville that allows cable landing points, wireless towers and data centers to physically connect. Two new international subsea cable stations have been installed that directly connect Jacksonville to South and Central America and the Caribbean. The AMX-1 line is operational and the PCCS line will be live soon. Both will increase data traffic capacity between the end points by at least 60 times.

Each cable line carries 328 fiber optic strands within its 1-inch diameter circumference, demonstrating the vast connectivity that runs through the Jax NAP – carrying Internet traffic from here as far north as New York and far south as Latin America, all linked by subsea and subterranean cables.

The Jax NAP:

• 22 … the number of cables that will go live by end of 2015
• 550,000 … the number of miles the total global cable network covers
• 17,800 kilometers .. the length of the AMX-1 cable route
• 6,000 kilometers … the  length of the PCCS cable route

The Jax NAP will benefit the telecom and data center industry by providing greater connectivity, conductivity, reliability and a lack of latency in trafficking large amounts of data through it.

Jacksonville’s Tier 1-level transfer station puts the city on par with Miami, home to the NAP of the Americas. Jacksonville also has been cited as the major interchange point between the continents – before Miami – largely due to the lack of hurricanes and the city’s seaboard location. Higher speed connectivity and lack of latency of Jacksonville’s cable hub might encourage some carriers to go through Jacksonville instead of Miami.

“More companies in the IT sector are interested in Jacksonville as a direct result of the NAP. The cables coming directly into Jacksonville now provide high-speed access and reliable connectivity for moving data,” said Jerry Mallot, JAXUSA President.