Pan-American Crossing (PAC)

Overview

The Pan-American Crossing (PAC) is a submarine cable system spanning approximately 10,000 kilometres, connecting Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, and the United States along the eastern Pacific corridor of the Americas. The system serves a multi-country route linking Central and North America through a series of landing points distributed across the Pacific coastlines of those nations.

Route and Landings

In Costa Rica, the cable lands at Unqui. In Mexico, landing points are located at Mazatlán and Tijuana, providing dual access along the country's Pacific coast. Panama is served by a landing at Fort Amador. In the United States, the cable comes ashore at Grover Beach, California.

Ownership and Operators

The Pan-American Crossing is owned by Cirion Technologies, a Latin American digital infrastructure company that operates data centres and network infrastructure across the region.

Technical Profile

The Pan-American Crossing extends 10,000 kilometres, placing it longer than approximately 64% of the other submarine cable systems touching the same four countries. This positions PAC as one of the longer systems within its immediate geographic corridor.

Status and Timeline

The cable became ready for service in 2000 and has remained operational for 26 years. It represents one of the earlier submarine cable deployments in its corridor, entering service at a time when several other major systems in the region were also being established.

Regional Context

The eastern Pacific Americas corridor is served by a range of submarine cable systems of varying lengths and vintages. Among cables sharing at least one country with PAC, systems such as the Southern Cross Cable Network, GlobeNet, and South American Crossing also entered service in 2000, making that year a notably active period for cable deployment in the region. South America-1 followed in 2001. At 10,000 kilometres, PAC is considerably shorter than longer regional systems such as GlobeNet at 23,500 kilometres and South American Crossing at 20,000 kilometres, reflecting its more focused Central America–to–North America scope.

Performance measurements over the past 60 days, drawn from 59 ping tests routed through the cable, show an average round-trip latency of 94.0 milliseconds, with a best recorded figure of 49.9 milliseconds.

Strategic Role

The Pan-American Crossing provides direct submarine connectivity between the United States, Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica, serving a corridor where infrastructure options have grown steadily since PAC's own entry into service. Its landing at two points in Mexico and its presence in both Costa Rica and Panama allow it to serve distinct segments of the Central American Pacific coast, complementing the broader set of cables that now touch these countries.