FASTER

Overview

FASTER is a trans-Pacific submarine cable system connecting Japan, Taiwan, and the United States. Spanning approximately 11,629 km, the system provides a direct link across the Pacific Ocean between East Asia and the western coast of North America, serving one of the world's most heavily used intercontinental corridors.

Route and Landings

In Japan, FASTER comes ashore at two locations: Chikura and Shima. These two landing points provide geographic diversity on the Japanese side of the system.

In Taiwan, the cable lands at Tanshui, on the northern coast of the island.

In the United States, FASTER reaches the North American continent at Bandon, Oregon, on the Pacific coast.

Ownership and Operators

FASTER is owned by a consortium of six companies: China Mobile, China Telecom, Google, KDDI, Singtel, and TIME dotCom. KDDI is one of Japan's principal telecommunications carriers, while Singtel is a major telecommunications group headquartered in Singapore. TIME dotCom is a Malaysian network and infrastructure provider. The consortium structure reflects the cable's role in connecting multiple national carrier networks across the trans-Pacific corridor.

Technical Profile

FASTER has a total length of 11,629 km. No further technical specifications, including capacity or fiber pair count, are available for this system.

Status and Timeline

FASTER entered service in 2016 and is currently operational. It connects Japan, Taiwan, and the United States as an active trans-Pacific cable system.

Regional Context

The trans-Pacific corridor served by FASTER includes several other submarine cable systems of varying scale. EAC-C2C, which has been in service since 2002, also connects Japan and Taiwan, though at a considerably greater total length of 36,500 km. The Southern Cross Cable Network, GlobeNet, and South America-1 are longer systems with United States landings that date to around the same period. Project Waterworth, at 50,000 km, and Bulikula, with an expected ready-for-service date of 2026, represent newer and larger additions to cables with United States landing points in this broader region. At 11,629 km, FASTER is a comparatively direct route within this group.

Performance measurements over the last 60 days, based on 127 ping tests, show an average round-trip latency of 133.8 ms through FASTER, with a best recorded result of 30.4 ms.

Strategic Role

FASTER provides direct submarine cable connectivity between Japan, Taiwan, and the United States, with landings distributed across two Japanese coastal sites, one Taiwanese landing, and the Oregon coast of North America. The cable links the networks of six distinct telecommunications operators spanning East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the United States, supporting cross-Pacific data exchange among those carriers and their respective user bases.