Gov’t unveils Brazil–Europe submarine cable project

Brazil’s Minister of Communications Fábio Faria (pictured above) unveiled a project including a submarine optical fiber cable linking Fortaleza, capital city of the Northeastern state of Fortaleza, to Sines, Portugal, with an expected expansion to locations in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, in addition to connections in Africa and other European countries, Atlantic islands, and the French Guiana. The project is estimated to be concluded by mid-2021.

“On Monday (Dec. 14), we will launch a submarine optical fiber cable that will go from Fortaleza to Sines, in Portugal, stretching over 6 thousand kilometers. We estimate that it should be finished by the second quarter next year,” the minister declared.

As it stands today, all information Brazil sends to the Old Continent goes first to the US, before being relayed to data centers in Europe. This trip takes twice as long as a direct connection between the two regions.

The project will be carried out by company EllaLink, owner and operator of the services to be provided by the cable, as soon as the infrastructure is ready. The structure offers a data traffic at 72 terabits per second (Tbps) and latency of 60 milliseconds. Altogether, 6 thousand kilometers of high-capacity cables should be launched and anchored to connect Ceará’s capital to Portugal.

“At some points, the cable is as deep as 5 km. It’s inconceivable, unimaginable, but now we’ll have a direct connection with Europe. It’s a great enterprise delivered by the Ministry of Communications, and it will help our country in data conveyance,” Faria stated.