Japan’s NEC Corporation has signed a contract with the National Submarine Cable Utility Belau Submarine Cable Corporation (BSCC) of the Palau Republic (Palau) for the Palau Cable 2 (PC2) cable construction project.

A press release said that PC2, with a total length of approximately 110 km, will connect Palau with the Southeast Asia–United States (SEA–US) cable that connects Southeast Asia and the U.S. mainland. BSCC, a state-owned public corporation, owns and manages a submarine fiber optic cable network for Palau. This cable is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022.

PC2 adopts the latest optical wavelength multiplexing transmission system of 100 gigabits per second (100 Gbps). An addition to the first optical submarine cable laid by NEC in Palau in 2017, it ensures the redundancy of Palau’s network, reliable communications and the increasing demands for communications.

The Republic of Palau consists of eight principal islands and more than 250 smaller ones lying roughly 500 miles southeast of the Philippines, in Oceania. The islands of Palau constitute the westernmost part of the Caroline Islands chain. Its total land area is 177 sq mi.

Per a report in Total Telecom, in 2017, NEC began construction of three submarine cables in Micronesia, to connect the islands of Palau, Yap, and Chuuk with the SEA–US cable. NEC notes that its OCC Corporation subsidiary makes submarine optical cables able to withstand water pressure 8,000 meters beneath the sea.

Michael Homa, who had a long career with Tamaqua Cable Products/Draka Cableteq, died Nov. 11, 2020, at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Homa’s 35-year career saw him work for Draka Cableteq in Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania, formerly Tamaqua Cable Products, which was owned by two generations of the Combs family prior to its sale. He was vice president of manufacturing at Tamaqua Cable when the company was acquired by Draka in 1997. He retired in 2005.

Homa, a 1998 recipient of the WCMA Distinguished Career Award, retired in 2005. He was a member of the Columbia Hose Company for 60 years, a member of the Six County Firemen’s Association for 50 years, a lifetime member of the Schuylkill County Historical Fire Society, a member of the Saint Clair Fish and Game Association and a former president of the Schuylkill County Society for Crippled Children. He is survived by his wife, Carol Ann; daughter Heather; and son Michael.

IEWC has promoted Pat Rislov to chief supply chain officer, with the company’s quality, business intelligence and marketing teams now also part of his oversight, joining sourcing, materials management, and logistics. He joined IEWC in 2018 as vice president of supply chain. He has more than 25 years of experience in the retail space with organizations including Kohl’s Department Stores and Steinhafels Furniture, where he earned progressive leadership roles specializing in inventory management, e-commerce operations, logistics and supply chain management. He holds a B.S. degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He will continue to report directly to company CEO Mike Veum. Based in New Berlin, Wisconsin, USA, IEWC supplies comprehensive wire, cable and wire management solutions.

Genuine Cable Group (GCG) recently named Marc Abbagnaro as chief commercial officer. He will lead the commercial efforts across all GCG targeted business segments, including the telecom/broadband, factory automation, marine, building automation, assembly and infrastructure segments. He most recently worked for Anixter International, where he was senior vice president of sales for Anixter’s Electrical and Electronic Solutions division. Over 10 years, he held sales leadership roles in the U.S. as well as global sales positions covering the Americas and China. Owned by Auda Group, a private equity firm, Genuine Cable Group is a value-added distributor of wire, cable and related products to a variety of niche markets.