On 5 September 2018, GlobeNet announced (here) that they have begun the construction of a new submarine cable system connecting Brazil and Argentina. This subsea cable system, named Malbec (after the renowned Argentinian wine) will be co-owned with Facebook, and operated by GlobeNet. Malbec system is said to feature six fiber pairs, in order to deliver twice the current international capacity to Argentina.
With insatiable bandwidth needs, the cloud funds subsea cable systems as operators of hyper-scale cloud platforms (Amazon, Facebook, Google and Microsoft) are more involved than ever in the building of long-haul subsea cable systems. Their need for bandwidth is growing so rapidly that it makes more and more economic sense for these players to invest in their own infrastructure, whether entire subsea cables or fiber pairs in cables built with co-investors with similar connectivity needs and operational philosophy.
In a past post (see here – December 2016), we briefly reviewed, for each of these new players, the subsea cable systems they were involved in. While demand for bandwidth is more and more shifting from traditional telecommunications companies to large content providers, this new post lists, for all the relevant subsea cable systems, the Internet Content Providers (ICPs) who are publicly customers, investors or owners of these systems. Some high-level data (like hyper-scale cloud user, RFS date, owners and supplier) is provided for each of these subsea cable systems, showing how the cloud funds subsea cable systems today; this role was played in the past by telcos.
Note: The subsea cable systems are listed below in the chronological order of their Ready for Service (RFS) date (actual RFS date for the cable systems already deployed, planned RFS date for the cable systems in construction). Subsea cable system data and maps are courtesy of the telecommunications market research and consulting firm TeleGeography. A summary table is found at the bottom of this post.
Unity/EAC-Pacific
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Google (part owner)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: March 2010
- Cable length: 9,620 km
- Owners: Telstra, Google, Global Transit, SingTel, KDDI, Airtel (Bharti)
- Supplier: NEC
- Notes: Unity is jointly owned by a consortium of six companies. Telstra owns two fiber pairs that the company refers to as EAC-Pacific. The remaining three fiber pairs are jointly owned by the other consortium members.
- Landing sites:
- Chikura, Japan
- Redondo Beach, California, United States
Southeast Asia Japan Cable (SJC)
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Google (part owner)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: June 2013
- Cable length: 8,900 km
- Owners: Globe Telecom, Google, KDDI, Telkom Indonesia, SingTel, China Telecom, TOT, China Mobile, Chunghwa Telecom, Brunei International Gateway, SingTel Optus, Airtel (Bharti)
- Supplier: NEC
- Landing sites:
- Chikura, Japan
- Chung Hom Kok, Hong Kong
- Nasugbu, Philippines
- Shantou, China
- Songkhla, Thailand
- Telisai, Brunei
- Tuas, Singapore
GTT Express (former Hibernia Express)
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Microsoft (major capacity buyer)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: September 2015
- Cable length: 4,600 km
- Owners: GTT
- Supplier: TE SubCom
- Landing sites:
- Brean, United Kingdom
- Cork, Ireland
- Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
AEConnect (AEC)
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Facebook (major capacity buyer), Microsoft (major capacity buyer)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: January 2016
- Cable length: 5,536 km
- Owners: Aqua Comms
- Supplier: TE SubCom
- Landing sites:
- Killala, Ireland
- Shirley, New York, United States
FASTER
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Google (part owner)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: June 2016
- Cable length: 11,629 km
- Owners: Google, KDDI, SingTel, China Telecom, China Mobile, Global Transit
- Supplier: NEC
- Landing sites:
- Bandon, Oregon, United States
- Chikura, Japan
- Shima, Japan
- Tanshui, Taiwan
Asia Pacific Gateway (APG)
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Facebook (part owner)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: November 2016
- Cable length: 10,400 km
- Owners: NTT, China Telecom, China Unicom, Chunghwa Telecom, KT, Starhub, LG Uplus, China Mobile, Viettel Corporation, Vietnam Telecom International, Global Transit, Facebook
- Supplier: NEC
- Landing sites:
- Chongming, China
- Danang, Vietnam
- Kuantan, Malaysia
- Maruyama, Japan
- Nanhui, China
- Pusan, Korea, Rep.
- Shima, Japan
- Songkhla, Thailand
- Tanah Merah, Singapore
- Toucheng, Taiwan
- Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong
Seabras-1 (Seaborn Networks)
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Microsoft (major capacity buyer)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: June 2017
- Cable length: 10,800 km
- Owners: Seaborn
- Supplier: ASN
- Landing sites:
- Praia Grande, Brazil
- Wall Township, New Jersey, United States
Monet
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Google (part owner)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: Q4 2017
- Cable length: 10,556 km
- Owners: Angola Cables, Google, Algar Telecom, Antel Uruguay
- Supplier: TE SubCom
- Landing sites:
- Boca Raton, Florida, United States
- Fortaleza, Brazil
- Santos, Brazil
MAREA
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Facebook (part owner), Microsoft (part owner)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: Q1 2018
- Cable length: 6,600 km
- Owners: Facebook, Microsoft, Telefonica
- Supplier: TE SubCom
- Landing sites:
- Bilbao, Spain
- Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States
Junior
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Google (sole owner)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: Q2 2018
- Cable length: 390 km
- Owners: Google
- Supplier: Padtec
- Landing sites:
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Santos, Brazil
Tannat
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Google (part owner)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: Q2 2018
- Cable length: 2,000 km
- Owners: Google, Antel Uruguay
- Supplier: ASN
- Landing sites:
- Maldonado, Uruguay
- Santos, Brazil
New Cross Pacific (NCP) Cable System
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Microsoft (part owner)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: Q2 2018
- Cable length: 13,618 km
- Owners: China Telecom, China Unicom, Chunghwa Telecom, KT, China Mobile, Microsoft, Softbank Telecom
- Supplier: TE SubCom
- Landing sites:
- Chongming, China
- Lingang, China
- Maruyama, Japan
- Nanhui, China
- Pacific City, OR, United States
- Pusan, Korea, Rep.
- Toucheng, Taiwan
Hawaiki Cable
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Amazon (major capacity buyer)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: June 2018
- Cable length: 14,000 km
- Owners: Hawaiki Cable Company
- Supplier: TE SubCom
- Landing sites:
- Kapolei, Hawaii, United States
- Mangawhai, New Zealand
- Pacific City, Oregon, United States
- Pago Pago, American Samoa
- Sydney, Australia
Pacific Light Cable Network (PLCN)
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Facebook (part owner), Google (part owner)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: Q1 2019
- Cable length: 12,800 km
- Owners: Pacific Light Data Communication Co. Ltd., Google, Facebook
- Supplier: TE SubCom
- Landing sites:
- Manhattan Beach, California, United States
- Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong
Indigo West and Central Cables
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Google (part owner)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: Q1 2019
- Cable length: 4,600 + 4,850 km (two discrete concatenated systems)
- Owners: AARnet, Google, Indosat, Singtel, SubPartners, and Telstra
- Supplier: ASN
- Landing sites:
- Singapore
- Jakarta, Indonesia
- Perth, Australia
- Sydney, Australia
HK-G (Hong Kong Guam Cable System)
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Google (part owner)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: Q4 2019
- Cable length: 3,900 km
- Owners: Google and RTI Connectivity
- Supplier: NEC
- Landing sites:
- Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong
- Piti, Guam
Curie
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Google (sole owner)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: Q4 2019
- Cable length: 10,000 km
- Owners: Google
- Supplier: TE SubCom
- Landing sites:
- Los Angeles, California, United States
- Valparaíso, Chile
Havfrue
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Facebook (part owner), Google (part owner)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: Q4 2019
- Cable length: 8,179 km
- Owners: Aqua Comms, Bulk Infrastructure, Facebook, and Google
- Supplier: TE SubCom
- Landing sites:
- Avon-by-the-Sea, New Jersey, USA
- Leckanvy, Ireland
- Kristiansan, Norway (Option)
- Blaabjerg, Denmark
JUPITER
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Amazon (part owner), Facebook (part owner)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: Early 2020
- Cable length: 14,000 km
- Owners: Amazon, Facebook, NTT Communications, PCCW Global, PLDT, and SoftBank
- Supplier: TE SubCom
- Landing sites:
- Daet, Camarines Norte, Philippines
- Maruyama, Japan
- Shima, Japan
- Los Angeles, California, USA
HKA (Hong Kong – Americas)
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Facebook (part owner)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: 2020
- Cable length: 13,000 km
- Owners: China Telecom, China Unicom, Facebook, Tata Communications, and Telstra
- Supplier: ASN
- Landing sites:
- Chung Hom Kok, Hong Kong
- Hermosa Beach, California, USA
Southeast Asia Japan Cable 2 (SJC2)
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Facebook (part owner)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: Q4 2020
- Cable length: 10,500 km
- Owners: China Mobile International, Chuan Wei, Chunghwa Telecom, Facebook, KDDI, Singtel, SK Broadband, VNPT
- Supplier: NEC
- Landing sites:
- Changi South, Singapore
- Chikura, Japan
- Chung Hom Kok, Hong Kong, China
- Fangshan, Taiwan
- Lingang, China
- Pusan, Korea, Rep.
- Quy Nhon, Vietnam
- Shima, Japan
- Sihanoukville, Cambodia
- Songkhla, Thailand
- Tanshui, Taiwan
Japan-Guam-Australia (JGA)
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Google (part owner for JGA-South from Guam to Australia)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: Q4 2019
- Cable length: 9,500 km
- Owners: RTI-C for JGA-North (Japan-Guam), Google, AARnet, and RTI-C for JGA-South (Guam-Australia)
- Supplier: ASN and NEC
- Landing sites:
- Minamiboso, Japan
- Piti, Guam
- Sydney, Australia
Bay to Bay Express Cable System (BtoBE)
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Amazon (part owner), Facebook (part owner)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: Q4 2019
- Cable length: 16,000 km
- Owners: Amazon, China Mobile, Facebook
- Supplier: NEC
- Landing sites:
- Singapore
- Hong Kong
- San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA
Dunant
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Google (sole owner)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: Late 2020
- Cable length: 6,600 km
- Owners: Google
- Supplier: TE SubCom
- Landing sites:
- Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA
- St. Hilaire, France
Malbec
- Hyper-scale cloud user(s): Facebook (part owner)
- Ready for Service (RFS) date: Q2 2020
- Cable length: 2,500 km (approximate)
- Owners: Facebook, GlobeNet
- Supplier: Unkn.
- Landing sites:
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Las Toninas, Argentina
- Praia Grande, Brazil
Summary Table
Another way to represent the investment/presence of OTTs in subsea cable systems is provided by the table below.
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