300 million US dollars to save 6 milliseconds

In the world of high-frequency trading, ping time to the server is of particular importance. Here, every millisecond is worth its weight in gold, and even more expensive. Another proof of this is Hibernia Atlantic 's mega-project for cable laying across the Atlantic Ocean (contractor - Global Marine Systems ). The project cost more than $ 300 million. Investments will pay off with interest, because due to the shorter route this cable will allow Hibernia Atlantic customers to make transactions on the stock exchange overseas 6 milliseconds faster than competitors.

6021 km Hibernian Express fiber optic cable connects London and New York. Route18 months were calculated for laying, taking into account the topography of the seabed and the savings of each kilometer. They plan to connect the new channel in 2013.

Global Crossing, the current leader in the high-frequency trading channel market, provides 65 ms ping via the transatlantic AC-1 channel. In the new Hibernian Express, this figure will be reduced to 59 ms. According to preliminary estimates, customers are willing to pay 50 times more for renting a Hibernian Express strip than for AC-1.

PS The last time optical fiber was laid along the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean during the dot-com boom in the late 90s.

via The Telegraph