TeleGeography, a global telecommunications market research and consulting firm, has launched its 2021 Submarine Cable Map, sponsored by Telecom Egypt.
The map shows 464 global cables and 1,245 landing stations, as well as major future deployments. The map analyzes the changing dynamics in the market and influence of new players on submarine cable investments.
Having accounted for less than 10 percent prior to 2012, content providers’ share of total capacity surged to 66 percent in 2020. Unlike previous cable construction booms, content providers like Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft are taking a more active role in the submarine cable market. These companies have incredible demand for data center traffic that they’re driving projects and route prioritization for submarine cable systems. Google alone has more than 15 subsea cable investments globally.
There is no shortage of cable facts hidden throughout the map. For example: there are more than 1.3 million km of submarine cables spanning the globe, which would wrap around Earth more than 30 times end-to-end.
Of the 464 cables displayed in the 2021 edition, 428 are active and 36 are planned. Out of these planned cables, 19 are new to TeleGeography’s map, boasting a combined length 103,348 km.
New subsea cables have been deployed across every global route grouping, with more systems expected in the coming three years. The Intra-Asian route is expected to experience the most investment, with a projected $1.6 billion in new cables to be launched.
TeleGeography’s Submarine Cable Map is available to order as a physical art piece or to explore as an interactive version reference.View the interactive map here.
