- Fastnet will connect the US with Ireland, with over 320 Tbps of capacity
- AWS will bury it 1.5m under the seabed to protect it from damage
- More AWS Regions and Availability Zones are in the works
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced plans to build a new transatlantic subsea cable to connect the US with Ireland.
Expected to go live in 2028, the route, subbed Fastnet, will connect Maryland with County Cork, and promises to deliver over 320 Tbps of capacity, which equals roughly 12.5 million HD streams or transmitting the entire digitized Library of Congress three times per second.
AWS sees Fastnet as a new option to expand on its largely east coast-dominant cable networks, where it will act as a backup to reduce risks from accidental cuts or intentional sabotage.
AWS ‘Fastnet’
AWS explains Fastnet will use an optical switching branching unit so that it can be flexible with routing and add additional landing points in the future.
In light of ongoing geopolitical tensions and previous subsea cable threats, the company will also bury it at roughly 1.5 metres under the seabed. Fastnet will also be clad in extra armour near the shore. The cable itself, though, has been compared to the size of a garden hose.
Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin welcomed the investment, noting, “By linking County Cork to Maryland in the United States, Ireland will become a true gateway to Europe for submarine telecommunications cables.”
Fastnet adds to Amazon’s extensive network of terrestrial and subsea cable, which spans over nine million kilometers. The company also used the announcement to remind us that a further 10 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 to flow between continents,” Amazon wrote.
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