Redazione RHC : 6 November 2025 15:32
In a few years, Ireland and the United States will be connected by an undersea communications cable designed to help Amazon improve its AWS services.
Undersea cables are a vital part of the infrastructure connecting continents. According to media reports, there are currently approximately 570 cables laid across oceans and seas, with another 81 planned. Among these is the new Amazon Fastnet Cable, designed to connect the United States and Ireland in a few years and enhance the AWS network.
As Amazon announced in a press release, the undersea cable will be laid between Maryland, USA, and County Cork, Ireland. While Amazon did not specify the exact length of the AWS cable, the distance between the two points is approximately 5,300 kilometers (3,000 miles) as the crow flies . Amazon expects to complete the project by 2028.
According to Amazon, the Maryland-Cork link is important for two reasons. First, Fastnet is designed to serve as a backup communications link in the event of the failure of other submarine cables. Because repairing such submarine cables is complex, restoring functionality after a failure can take longer. Fastnet is also designed to meet the growing demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence through AWS services.
The undersea cable, 37 millimeters thick at its widest point, will transmit data between the two points using fiber optic technology. According to Amazon, this will enable data transfer speeds of up to 320 terabits per second, comparable to the simultaneous streaming of 12.5 million HD movies.
The high transmission capacity will allow Amazon AWS’s automated monitoring system to more easily manage and redirect heavy loads. Additionally, the cable provides Amazon with an additional level of redundancy, mitigating the impact of any failures on other cables.
To prevent failures, the submarine cable will be better protected from external influences in coastal areas. In addition to the thinner steel conductors that protect the optical fiber inside the cable, an additional layer is used in the flatter sections. In these cases, thicker steel wires wrap around the entire cable and are in turn covered with a nylon sheath. According to Amazon, this solution is designed to better protect the cable from “natural and man-made factors.”
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