Roquetas-Melilla (CAM)

Overview

The Roquetas-Melilla cable, also known as CAM, is a short domestic submarine cable system entirely within Spain. Spanning 181 kilometres, it connects the Spanish mainland with the Spanish autonomous city of Melilla, an enclave on the northern coast of Africa. The system provides a direct undersea link across this segment of the western Mediterranean.

Route and Landings

CAM has two landing points, both located in Spain. On the mainland, the cable comes ashore at Roquetas de Mar, a coastal municipality in the province of Almería in southeastern Spain. The second landing is at Melilla, a Spanish autonomous city situated on the northern African coast and surrounded by Moroccan territory. The cable spans the sea between these two points across a total distance of 181 kilometres.

Ownership and Operators

The CAM cable is owned and operated by Telefónica, the Spanish multinational telecommunications company. As the sole owner of this system, Telefónica manages the link as part of its domestic infrastructure connecting the Spanish mainland to its overseas territories and enclaves.

Status and Timeline

The Roquetas-Melilla cable entered service in 2014 and is currently operational. It represents Telefónica's direct undersea connection between metropolitan Spain and the city of Melilla.

Regional Context

Although CAM operates within a purely domestic Spanish framework, it shares the broader western Mediterranean corridor with a number of significantly larger international cable systems. Among its regional peers, the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) system has been in service since 2012, while Grace Hopper became operational in 2022. Larger and more recently developed systems — including 2Africa (RFS 2024), Anjana, and the Medusa Submarine Cable System (both planned for 2026), as well as Sol (planned for 2027) — reflect continued investment in Spain's coastal connectivity infrastructure. Within this context, CAM stands apart as a short, single-operator domestic link rather than a long-haul international system.

Strategic Role

The CAM cable provides direct undersea connectivity between the Spanish mainland and Melilla, an enclave that cannot be reached overland from Spain without crossing through Morocco. At 181 kilometres, the system offers a dedicated route that supports telecommunications services for Melilla's resident population and its administrative ties to mainland Spain. The cable's ownership by a single operator reflects the domestic nature of the connection it serves.