Alonso de Ojeda

Overview

Alonso de Ojeda is a short regional submarine cable system spanning 122 kilometres between the islands of Aruba and Curaçao in the southern Caribbean. It provides a direct undersea link across the corridor separating these two Dutch Caribbean territories and is jointly owned by the telecommunications operators of each island.

Route and Landings

In Aruba, the cable lands at Baby Beach, located on the southeastern tip of the island. In Curaçao, the cable lands at Willemstad, the capital and principal city of that island. These two landing points define the full extent of the system.

Ownership and Operators

Alonso de Ojeda is owned jointly by Setar and United Telecommunication Services (UTS). Setar is the principal telecommunications provider of Aruba, while UTS serves Curaçao. The shared ownership arrangement reflects the bilateral nature of the connection, with each island's incumbent carrier holding a stake in the infrastructure linking them.

Status and Timeline

The cable was ready for service in 1999, establishing a direct submarine connection between Aruba and Curaçao at an early stage in the development of the Dutch Caribbean's regional cable infrastructure.

Regional Context

The Aruba–Curaçao corridor has attracted several submarine cable systems over the years. Alonso de Ojeda was among the earliest, entering service in 1999 alongside Amerigo Vespucci, another short system with landings in Curaçao that also reached readiness that same year. Later additions to the regional picture include EC Link and Jerry Newton, both of which entered service in 2007 with landings in Curaçao, and the much longer ARCOS system, which connects Curaçao to a wider Caribbean and Central American network. The planned CELIA cable, with an expected ready-for-service date of 2027, will serve both Aruba and Curaçao and will bring substantially greater reach to this corridor. At 122 kilometres, Alonso de Ojeda remains one of the shorter systems serving these islands, focused specifically on the inter-island link rather than broader regional connectivity.

Strategic Role

By directly connecting Baby Beach in Aruba and Willemstad in Curaçao, Alonso de Ojeda provides a dedicated submarine pathway between the two islands' national telecommunications networks. The system supports direct communication between Aruba and Curaçao without relying on longer-distance cables that serve the wider Caribbean region.