Modern transatlantic cables carry more data per second than every American Internet user generated in 1990.
How to Play: Guess if the cable on the right has a HIGHER or LOWER capacity than the one on the left.
Name A
Name B
Top 10 Highest-Capacity Undersea Cables
Undersea cable capacity has scaled rapidly. New cables in 2023-2024 deliver 200+ Tbps. Older cables max at 1-10 Tbps.
| # | Name | Capacity (Tbps) | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grace Hopper (USA-UK-Spain) | 340 | Tbps |
| 2 | Dunant (USA-France) | 250 | Tbps |
| 3 | MAREA (USA-Spain) | 200 | Tbps |
| 4 | 2Africa (33 landings) | 180 | Tbps |
| 5 | Echo (USA-Asia, 2024) | 144 | Tbps |
| 6 | Bifrost (USA-Asia, 2024) | 144 | Tbps |
| 7 | Equiano (Portugal-S.Africa) | 144 | Tbps |
| 8 | Ningxia-Aussie (planned) | 144 | Tbps |
| 9 | SEA-ME-WE 6 (2025) | 126 | Tbps |
| 10 | EllaLink (Brazil-Portugal) | 100 | Tbps |
Cable Capacity Growth
Modern undersea cables use 16-24 fiber pairs, each carrying 18-25 Tbps. Total capacity = pairs × per-pair speed.
Google operates the most private cables. Dunant, Grace Hopper, Echo, Equiano are all Google-funded for connecting Google data centers globally.
TAT-1 (1956), the first transatlantic cable, carried 36 simultaneous voice calls — equivalent to 0.02 Mbps. Modern cables carry over 10 million times more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Highest-capacity undersea cable?
Grace Hopper at 340 Tbps (USA-UK-Spain), operated by Google. 2Africa at 180 Tbps and Dunant at 250 Tbps follow.
How long do cables last?
25-30 years typically. Active maintenance includes shark-bite repairs (sharks attack cables, especially in shallow water).
Who owns these cables?
Mix of telcos and tech giants. Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon now own 80%+ of new transatlantic capacity.
Why are cables important?
99% of internet traffic between continents goes through undersea cables, not satellites. Failures (anchor strikes, sabotage) cause major outages.
Note: Undersea cable capacity in Tbps per Submarine Cable Map.
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