Mid-Atlantic Crossing (MAC)

Overview

The Mid-Atlantic Crossing (MAC) is a submarine cable system spanning approximately 7,500 km that connects the continental United States with the U.S. Virgin Islands. Serving an intra-Atlantic corridor within U.S. territories, it links two points on the eastern seaboard of the United States with a landing in the Caribbean.

Route and Landings

In the United States, MAC lands at two points: Brookhaven, NY, in the northeastern United States, and Hollywood, FL, on the southeastern coast of Florida.

In the U.S. Virgin Islands, the cable has a landing at St. Croix, connecting the territory to the U.S. mainland.

Ownership and Operators

MAC is owned by Cirion Technologies. Cirion Technologies is a Latin American digital infrastructure and technology services provider that operates a broad portfolio of network assets across the Americas.

Status and Timeline

MAC became ready for service in 2000 and remains in operation today, connecting its three landing points across the eastern U.S. and Caribbean corridor.

Regional Context

MAC operates within a corridor that includes several other cable systems with U.S. landings. Compared to regional peers such as the Southern Cross Cable Network, GlobeNet, and the South American Crossing — each of which entered service around the same year — MAC is considerably shorter in length, reflecting its more focused role connecting U.S. mainland sites with the U.S. Virgin Islands rather than spanning intercontinental distances. Longer systems such as South America-1 and the planned Project Waterworth illustrate the broader range of cable infrastructure in which MAC sits as a shorter, regionally scoped system.

Performance measurements recorded over the last 60 days, based on 76 ping tests through the cable, show an average round-trip latency of 75.6 ms, with a best recorded round-trip time of 63.9 ms.

Strategic Role

By linking Brookhaven and Hollywood on the U.S. East Coast with St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, MAC provides direct submarine connectivity between the U.S. mainland and a U.S. Caribbean territory. With three landing points spread across two jurisdictions — both U.S.-administered — the system supports telecommunications continuity between the continental United States and an island territory that relies on submarine cable for the bulk of its international connectivity.