Submarine Cable Backhaul to Data Center Transport
High-Capacity. Secure. Resilient
DWDM and OTN Backhaul from Coastal Landing Sites to Inland Core Infrastructure
Submarine cables carry the majority of the world’s international data, and the terrestrial connection from the Cable Landing Station (CLS) to inland data centers (DCs) is where PacketLight’s technology plays a vital role.
PacketLight delivers open, scalable DWDM and OTN solutions for CLS-to-DC backhaul, enabling resilient, high-capacity, low-latency transport. Designed for carriers and hyperscalers, our platforms deliver performance monitoring and built-in redundancy at the critical demarcation point between the submarine cable operator and the terrestrial network provider.
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The Critical Role of Terrestrial Backhaul in Submarine Systems
Global Connectivity Starts at the Shore, And Ends in the Cloud
The Cable Landing Station (CLS), referred to in some countries as a Cable Head-End, Landing Hub, or Subsea Terminal Facility, acts as the gateway between the global submarine system and the inland infrastructure of hyperscalers, data centers, carriers and core backbone nodes.
The journey from the coastal CLS often spans tens, hundreds or thousands of kilometers inland, requiring:
High-Capacity DWDM Links
Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing for massive data capacity throughput.
SLA-Grade Transport
Service Level Agreement-backed transport for guaranteed performance.
Advanced Diagnostics
Tools for real-time monitoring, fault detection, and automated provisioning.
Security: Layer-1 Encryption
Hardware-based encryption for robust data security at the optical layer.
Multi-Vendor Compatibility
Interoperability across vendor ecosystems with industry-standard OTU2/2e, OTU4, and 10Gb/100Gb Ethernet services.
Diverse Path Protection
Supports physically diverse routing for coastal-to-inland and cross-border links, ensuring path redundancy and minimizing disruption.
Why PacketLight for Submarine Backhaul?
PacketLight solutions simplify inland backhaul from the CLS to multiple inland sites. Our technology enables resilient, carrier-grade DCI networks with centralized visibility and control, making it easy to interconnect multiple data centers and regional hubs from a single landing station.
We specialize in the most critical segment: connecting your submarine investment to inland infrastructure, including hyperscale data centers, internet exchanges (IXs), cloud regions, and end customers - with precision, resilience, and operational simplicity at the network demarcation point.
Real-World Use Cases
PacketLight solutions are ideal for:
- Telecom service provider - Building protected backhaul link connected to a subsea network, shared by three telecom service providers.
- Southeast Asian regional operator - extending subsea landing capacity to multiple inland cities using 400G and 800G DWDM links
- Wholesale fiber provider - monetizing CLS-to-DC fiber through SLA-assured Transport-as-a-Service offerings
- Government & financial data providers - ensuring secure coastal-to-inland transport with full optical encryption
- A submarine cable customer - multiple upcoming CLS sites. Selected PacketLight to interconnect landing stations with inland data centers using 400G DWDM, with an architecture that allows expansion to 51.2T per fiber strand.
