AEC-1

Overview

AEC-1 is a transatlantic submarine cable system connecting Ireland and the United States across the North Atlantic corridor. With a total length of 5,521 km, it provides a direct link between the west coast of Ireland and the eastern seaboard of the United States. The cable is owned and operated by EXA Infrastructure.

Route and Landings

In Ireland, AEC-1 lands at Killala, a coastal location on the northwest of the island. In the United States, the cable comes ashore at Shirley, New York, on the south shore of Long Island.

Ownership and Operators

AEC-1 is wholly owned by EXA Infrastructure, a provider specialising in subsea and terrestrial fibre infrastructure across the transatlantic corridor.

Status and Timeline

AEC-1 entered service in 2016 and has now been operational for approximately ten years. It currently carries live traffic across the Ireland–United States route.

Regional Context

AEC-1 spans 5,521 km, placing it longer than roughly 52% of the other submarine cables that touch both Ireland and the United States. Ireland hosts 14 submarine cables across 12 landing points, while the United States connects to 75 cables across 119 landing points, reflecting the scale and diversity of both countries' subsea infrastructure. Among cables serving the United States in this broader international context, AEC-1 is a relatively compact system compared to long-haul routes such as the Southern Cross Cable Network at 30,500 km or the Asia-America Gateway at 20,000 km, which reach far beyond the Atlantic. Within its specific transatlantic pairing, AEC-1 occupies a direct and geographically efficient path.

Recent performance measurements based on 93 ping tests over the past 60 days show an average round-trip latency of 87.6 ms, with a best recorded result of 19.3 ms through this cable.

Strategic Role

By connecting Killala in northwest Ireland directly to Shirley, New York, AEC-1 provides a transatlantic data path between two well-connected national cable hubs. Ireland's position as a landing point for North Atlantic cables, combined with the concentration of landing infrastructure on the US East Coast, means AEC-1 sits within a corridor served by multiple competing systems. Its relatively focused two-point architecture offers a straightforward bilateral connection across the Atlantic, supporting the data exchange needs of both endpoints.