- The landline will connect the US to Ireland with a capacity of over 320 Tbps
- AWS will bury it 1.5m below the seabed to protect it from damage
- More AWS Regions and Availability Zones are on the way
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced plans to build a new transatlantic undersea cable to connect the US with Ireland.
Expected to go live in 2028, the under-Fastnet route connects Maryland with County Cork and promises to deliver over 320 Tbps of capacity, equivalent to around 12.5 million HD streams or sending the entire digitized Library of Congress three times a second.
AWS sees Fastnet as a new opportunity to expand on its largely East Coast-dominant cable networks, where it will act as a backup to reduce risks from accidental cuts or deliberate sabotage.
AWS ‘Fixed’
AWS explains that Fastnet will use an optical switching device so that it can be flexible with routing and add additional landing points in the future.
In light of the ongoing geopolitical tensions and previous undersea cable threats, the company will also bury it about 1.5 meters below the seabed. The fixed net will also be clad in extra armor near the coast. However, the cable itself has been compared to the size of a garden hose.
Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin welcomed the investment, noting: “By connecting County Cork with Maryland in the US, Ireland will become a true gateway to Europe for submarine telecommunications cables.”
Fastnet adds to Amazon’s extensive network of terrestrial and submarine cables, which stretches over nine million kilometers. The company also used the announcement to remind us that 10 more Availability Zones and three AWS Regions are in the works.
“The ability to maintain seamless connectivity across geographies isn’t just about speed — it’s about having secure and reliable paths for data flow between continents,” Amazon wrote.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews and opinions in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can too follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, video unboxings, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
