Amazon is embarking on its first wholly-owned subsea fiber-optic cable project, dubbed Fastnet, connecting Maryland’s Eastern Shore to County Cork, Ireland. This strategic move underscores the tech giant’s commitment to bolstering its infrastructure and meeting the escalating demands of cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
Subsea cables are the unseen backbone of the internet, carrying over 95% of international data and voice traffic. They are crucial for global communication and commerce, transmitting hundreds of terabits of data per second, encompassing everything from government communications to financial transactions and streaming content.
While Amazon has previously participated in consortium-backed subsea cable ventures like Jako, Bifrost, and Havfrue, Fastnet marks a significant shift towards independent infrastructure development. This allows Amazon greater control over capacity, latency, and overall network performance.
“Subsea infrastructure is essential for AWS and for any international connectivity across oceans,” Matt Rehder, Amazon Web Services vice president of core networking, commented. “While satellite connectivity is an alternative, it doesn’t provide the necessary low latency, high capacity, and cost-effectiveness that our customers and the internet, in general, requires.”
The Fastnet cable is projected to have a capacity exceeding 320 terabits per second, theoretically enabling the simultaneous streaming of 12.5 million HD movies. This massive bandwidth will support the growing demands of Amazon Web Services (AWS) clients utilizing cloud computing, AI applications, and edge computing solutions.
Beyond increasing capacity, Fastnet is also designed to enhance Amazon’s network resilience, reducing the potential impact of outages or disruptions. The deployment of dedicated infrastructure minimizes reliance on third-party providers and improves overall service reliability. While Amazon has not disclosed the exact cost of the project, the company anticipates Fastnet to be operational by 2028.
Amazon’s move aligns with a broader trend of technology giants investing heavily in subsea cable infrastructure. Google, Meta, and Microsoft have also made significant investments, recognizing the critical role these cables play in powering the digital economy. This competition is driving innovation and pushing the boundaries of bandwidth capacity and network performance.
Analysts note that Amazon’s investment in Fastnet signifies a long-term commitment to owning and controlling a larger portion of its network infrastructure. By reducing reliance on external providers, Amazon aims to gain a competitive edge in the cloud computing market and ensure the delivery of high-quality services to its customers. The strategic location of the cable, connecting the US East Coast with Ireland, suggests a focus on serving the growing transatlantic data flows and supporting international business operations.
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