Sol

Overview

Sol is a planned transatlantic submarine cable system spanning 8,153 km. It connects four landing points across four countries — Bermuda, Portugal, Spain, and the United States — forming a corridor that links the eastern seaboard of North America with the Iberian Peninsula, with a branch to the mid-Atlantic island territory of Bermuda.

Route and Landings

In Bermuda, the cable lands at Annie's Bay. In Portugal, it comes ashore at São Miguel, in the Azores archipelago. In Spain, the landing point is Santander, on the northern coast. In the United States, the cable lands at Palm Coast, Florida.

Ownership and Operators

Sol is owned by Google. Google has developed a broad portfolio of private submarine cable infrastructure across multiple ocean basins, and Sol represents one of its transatlantic investments.

Status and Timeline

Sol is planned for a ready-for-service date of 2027. Construction and deployment are anticipated to be completed ahead of that milestone.

Technical Profile

Sol stretches 8,153 km in total length, placing it among the longer transatlantic cable systems currently in development. No additional technical specifications — such as fiber pairs, design capacity, or equipment supplier — have been announced at this time.

Regional Context

The transatlantic corridor served by Sol is one of the most established in submarine cable history. Peers in the broader region include GlobeNet, which also connects Bermuda and the United States at 23,500 km, and 2Africa, which reaches Portugal and Spain at 45,000 km with a ready-for-service date of 2024. Sol's routing through São Miguel in the Azores adds a waypoint that is relatively uncommon among recent transatlantic systems, offering a geographic branching point in the central Atlantic.

Performance measurements recorded over a 60-day window, based on 42 ping tests conducted through the cable, show an average round-trip latency of 43.6 ms, with a best recorded value of 23.2 ms. These figures reflect the relatively compact transatlantic distance compared with cables spanning the Pacific or Indian Oceans.

Strategic Role

By connecting Palm Coast and Annie's Bay in the western Atlantic with Santander and São Miguel in Europe, Sol provides direct transatlantic capacity between the United States, Bermuda, Spain, and Portugal. The Azorean landing at São Miguel extends connectivity to Portuguese island territory in the mid-Atlantic. When it enters service in 2027, Sol will add a dedicated transatlantic path under single ownership, complementing the existing mix of consortium-owned and privately held systems that serve this corridor.