Havfrue/AEC-2

Overview

Havfrue/AEC-2 is a transatlantic submarine cable system spanning 7,650 kilometres across the North Atlantic. It connects the United States, Ireland, Denmark, and Norway, serving a corridor that links North America with northern and western Europe. The system is operated under a shared ownership structure involving Bulk Infrastructure, EXA Infrastructure, Google, and Meta.

Route and Landings

In Denmark, the cable lands at Blaabjerg. In Ireland, it comes ashore at Lecanvey, County Mayo, on the west coast. In Norway, the landing point is Kristiansand. In the United States, the cable lands at Wall Township, New Jersey.

Ownership and Operators

Havfrue/AEC-2 is jointly owned by Bulk Infrastructure, EXA Infrastructure, Google, and Meta. Bulk Infrastructure is a Norwegian data centre and fibre infrastructure company, while EXA Infrastructure operates a wide-reaching European digital infrastructure network. Google and Meta are among the most active private investors in submarine cable capacity globally, each building dedicated infrastructure to support their respective platform and cloud operations.

Status and Timeline

Havfrue/AEC-2 entered service in 2020. The system is currently in service, connecting its four landing points across the North Atlantic.

Regional Context

Havfrue/AEC-2 operates in a transatlantic corridor that includes several other long-haul cable systems with US landing points, such as the Southern Cross Cable Network, GlobeNet, and the Asia-America Gateway Cable System. At 7,650 kilometres, Havfrue/AEC-2 is considerably shorter than most of its regional peers, reflecting its focused northern European routing rather than a broader intercontinental reach. Performance measurements over the past 60 days show an average round-trip latency of 80.7 milliseconds, with a best recorded result of 26.7 milliseconds, consistent with a relatively compact transatlantic path terminating in northern Europe.

Strategic Role

By connecting the United States with Ireland, Denmark, and Norway through a single cable system, Havfrue/AEC-2 provides direct transatlantic connectivity to the Nordic region alongside the more established Irish corridor. The Norwegian and Danish landings extend high-capacity transatlantic reach into Scandinavia, complementing Ireland's role as a well-established European cable hub. The four-party ownership structure reflects the growing trend of technology companies co-investing in dedicated submarine infrastructure to support their own traffic demands across the North Atlantic.