ARIMAO

Overview

ARIMAO is a submarine cable system spanning 2,470 km across the Caribbean, connecting Cuba and Martinique. It forms a direct link between these two islands, serving a corridor that bridges the Greater Antilles and the eastern Caribbean.

Route and Landings

In Cuba, the cable lands at Cienfuegos, a city on the southern coast of the island.

In Martinique, the cable lands at Schoelcher, located on the western coast of the island near Fort-de-France.

Ownership and Operators

ARIMAO is jointly owned by Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba (ETECSA), the state telecommunications operator of Cuba, and Orange, the French multinational telecommunications group. Orange has a substantial presence across the Caribbean, including in Martinique as an overseas territory of France, making this a natural partnership for a direct link between the two islands.

Status and Timeline

ARIMAO entered service in 2023 and has been operational for approximately three years. It is among the more recently deployed cable systems in its corridor.

Regional Context

ARIMAO operates within a corridor that includes several other cable systems touching Cuba and Martinique. At 2,470 km, it is longer than 71% of the other cables serving the same countries, placing it toward the upper end of the length range for this region. Cuba currently has four submarine cables landing across four points, with connections dating back to 2012. Martinique is served by five submarine cables landing at two points, with infrastructure in the territory stretching back to 1995.

Among regional peers, ARIMAO sits between shorter systems such as GTMO-1 (1,528 km, 2016) and Kanawa (1,746 km, 2019) on one side, and longer systems such as Southern Caribbean Fiber (3,000 km, 2006) and the planned CELIA (3,700 km, expected 2027) on the other. ALBA-1 and the Eastern Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) also serve overlapping geographies. ARIMAO is one of the most recently commissioned cables in this group, alongside the forthcoming CELIA.

Strategic Role

ARIMAO provides a direct submarine connection between Cuba and Martinique, adding capacity to Cuba's limited international submarine cable infrastructure and strengthening connectivity between the island and French Caribbean territory. Its landing in Schoelcher positions it at a well-established cable landing location in Martinique, while its Cienfuegos landing extends Cuba's submarine cable reach to its southern coast.