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The strategic partnership between EXA Infrastructure and IT International Telecom Inc. (IT) for the deployment of EXA Meridian pairs one of the largest transatlantic terrestrial and subsea digital infrastructure platforms with one of North America’s foremost independent marine installation contractors.
Scheduled to be ready for service (RFS) in 2029, the 6,552 km EXA Meridian will link New Jersey, U.S., to a new Cable Landing Station in Brean, UK. As the first transatlantic cable built by a single operator in over a decade, the EXA Meridian system will feature 24 fiber pairs with a design capacity of up to 500 Tbps, utilizing Xtera as the turnkey wet-plant vendor. Engaging IT International Telecom secures the specialized marine engineering, vessel capacity, and seabed protection expertise essential to delivering the high-density project on schedule.
1. Strategic Analysis of the Cooperation
The collaboration reflects several structural realities shaping modern subsea cable construction:
- Securing Scarce DP2 Vessel Tonnage: Global demand for specialized Dynamic Positioning Class 2 (DP2) cable-laying and burial vessels has tightened sharply. By contracting IT directly, EXA Infrastructure locks in dedicated marine installation spreads and experienced North Atlantic crews, insulating EXA Meridian from global vessel bottlenecks.
- Vendor-Neutral & Open-Cable Flexibility: Unlike turnkey wet-plant manufacturers that bundle manufacturing with proprietary marine installation, IT operates as a fully independent marine contractor. This enables EXA Infrastructure to maintain flexibility in deploying Xtera's advanced optical amplification and subsea repeaters while relying on a single dedicated marine execution partner.
- Complementary Infrastructure Footprint: EXA Infrastructure brings extensive terrestrial backhaul networks across Europe and North America alongside its new dedicated Cable Landing Station (CLS) in Brean, UK. IT complements this with end-to-end wet-plant marine deployment and harsh-weather North Atlantic operational mastery.
2. Role of IT International Telecom in EXA Meridian
In supporting EXA Meridian, IT International Telecom’s operational scope spans the marine construction lifecycle—from pre-installation seabed clearance through final wet-plant commissioning and long-term physical resilience:
- Pre-Lay Route Preparation & Clearance (PLGR): Conducting Pre-Lay Grapnel Runs (PLGR) along the engineered marine route to clear abandoned fishing gear, wires, and seabed debris that could damage the fiber-optic cable during installation.
- Shore-End Landings & Nearshore Integration: Executing shore-end operations to pull the heavily armored shore-end cable segments into EXA's Cable Landing Stations in New Jersey and Brean.
- Main-Lay Installation & Seabed Burial: Loading the wet-plant optical cable and repeaters at port and executing precision deep-water main-lay operations using DP2 cable ships, followed by subsea plowing and ROV burial across shallow continental shelves to protect against vessel anchor drags and bottom-trawling.
- Post-RFS Maintenance Readiness: Positioning EXA Meridian for long-term operational availability through IT’s North Atlantic maintenance infrastructure, providing rapid fault-location and repair capabilities.
3. Company Profile: IT International Telecom Inc.
Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, with a primary marine operations depot in Halifax, Nova Scotia, IT International Telecom is a privately held, independent marine installation, maintenance, and subsea engineering contractor. The company serves the global telecommunications, offshore energy, and defense sectors across more than 65 countries.
Specialized Cable Vessel Fleet
IT owns and operates a dedicated fleet of DP2 cable-laying and maintenance vessels, including the IT Intrepid and IT Integrity. In late 2024, the company expanded its deep-water capabilities by taking delivery of the IT Infinity, a 97.6-meter state-of-the-art Cable Laying Vessel (CLV) converted by Vard in Norway.
Subsea Burial & Core Capabilities
The fleet is equipped with heavy-duty subsea cable plows and work-class Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) capable of simultaneous lay-and-burial operations in varied seabed soils, supported by Universal Jointing (UJ) certification and shipboard optical testing suites.
4. Proven Track Record: Three Decades of Subsea Execution
IT International Telecom has built a deep track record of completing complex subsea fiber-optic projects in challenging marine environments worldwide, establishing a specialized resume in both transoceanic trunks and complex regional/coastal deployments. Notable historical projects include:
| Project & Year | IT Telecom Scope & Contribution |
|---|---|
| North Shore Submarine Cable 2026 |
Served as the marine installation contractor for this 125-kilometer repeaterless system connecting Sept-Îles to Sainte-Anne-des-Monts across the Gulf of St. Lawrence, operating under a joint $20 million CAD investment by Telus and the Canadian Government. |
| Sunoque III TransGulf Cable 2025 |
Deployed a 160-kilometer fiber-optic cable in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, utilizing the IT Intrepid and its subsea cable plow to trench, lay, and bury the system in a single continuous operation. |
| Ocean Networks HIFL Cable 2025 |
Selected by Ocean Networks as the marine installation partner alongside Prysmian to execute the deployment of the high-fiber-count submarine cable system. |
| Crosslake Fibre Lake Ontario 2018 |
Successfully installed a 58-kilometer unrepeatered submarine cable across Lake Ontario, creating a physically diverse, low-latency path between Toronto and Buffalo. |
By pairing EXA Infrastructure’s immense terrestrial backbone and transatlantic operational scale with IT International Telecom’s independent fleet and historical subsea execution track record, the EXA Meridian project is structurally insulated against prevailing industry supply chain and installation bottlenecks.
