PanAm South

Overview

PanAm South is a regional submarine cable system connecting Ecuador and Panama along the Pacific coast of South America. Spanning 1,340 kilometres, it provides a direct link between these two countries and serves a relatively short coastal corridor by comparison with the longer intercontinental systems that also land in the region.

Route and Landings

In Ecuador, PanAm South lands at Punta Carnero. In Panama, the cable comes ashore at Panama City. These are the system's two landing points.

Ownership and Operators

PanAm South is jointly owned by Corporacion Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (CNT) and Liberty Networks. CNT is Ecuador's state-owned telecommunications carrier. Liberty Networks is a regional infrastructure operator providing connectivity services across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Status and Timeline

PanAm South entered service in 1999, making it one of the earliest submarine cables to land in both Ecuador and Panama. As of today, the system has been operational for approximately 27 years.

Regional Context

The Ecuador–Panama corridor is served by several submarine cable systems of varying scale. PanAm South, at 1,340 kilometres, is the shortest system among the cables touching this corridor; peers such as South American Crossing (SAC), Pan-American Crossing (PAC), ARCOS, South America-1 (SAm-1), and the South Pacific Cable System (SPCS)/Mistral all extend considerably further, while MANTA is planned for service in 2028. PanAm South was among the first cables to establish submarine connectivity in both countries, predating most of those regional peers by one to two years.

Based on 118 ping tests conducted over the past 60 days, PanAm South records an average round-trip latency of 107.1 milliseconds, with a best observed result of 100.4 ms. This figure reflects the relatively modest physical distance between its two landing points.

Strategic Role

By linking Punta Carnero in Ecuador directly to Panama City, PanAm South supports bilateral connectivity between two countries that each host a modest concentration of submarine cable infrastructure on the Pacific coast. Ecuador currently has four submarine cables landing across three landing points, and Panama hosts six cables across six separate landing points. PanAm South contributes a dedicated coastal path within this broader network of Pacific-facing cable landings.