Almería-Melilla (ALME): Connecting mainland Spain to its autonomous city in North Africa
The Almería-Melilla (ALME) submarine cable, owned by Telefonica, links the Spanish mainland city of
Almería to
Melilla, an autonomous Spanish city on the North African coast. Spanning a distance of 198 km, this cable has been in service since 1990 according to GeoCables database records. Its primary role is to ensure telecommunications connectivity between these geographically distinct but politically connected territories.
What makes this cable intriguing is the limited publicly disclosed technical information about its design capacity, fiber pairs, and supplier, as well as the absence of live latency measurements. Furthermore, Melilla is served by at least one other submarine cable, the
Roquetas-Melilla (CAM), creating redundancy in the corridor. This raises questions about how these cables complement each other in terms of load balancing and failover.
Quick facts
| Length |
198 km |
| Ready for service |
1990 (GeoCables database value; no conflicting industry sources surfaced) |
| Owner |
Telefonica |
| Status |
In service |
| Design capacity |
Not disclosed |
| Fiber pairs |
Not disclosed |
| Supplier |
Not disclosed |
| Technology |
Not disclosed |
| Landing points |
Almería (Spain); Melilla (Spain) |
| Other cables at Melilla |
Roquetas-Melilla (CAM) |
🗺 Show Almería-Melilla (ALME) on the interactive cable map
Route
The ALME cable connects Almería, located on Spain's southeastern Mediterranean coast, to Melilla, a small Spanish enclave on the northern coast of Africa. This route crosses a section of the Alboran Sea, a sub-basin of the Mediterranean. The region is known for its complex underwater topography, which likely required detailed marine surveys during the cable's installation to ensure proper routing and burial.
Why it was built and what it carries
The primary purpose of the Almería-Melilla cable is to provide telecommunications connectivity between mainland Spain and Melilla. Given Melilla's status as an autonomous city separated from the mainland, reliable communication infrastructure is essential for administrative, commercial, and personal needs. Although specific data on its traffic load is not publicly available, the cable likely supports internet, voice, and data services for both residential and institutional users in Melilla.
History: what can be established
GeoCables records indicate that the ALME cable became ready for service in 1990. No conflicting dates have been identified in industry sources, which suggests that this date is accurate. The cable's installation likely reflected Telefonica's commitment to ensuring connectivity for Melilla, which relies heavily on external links for communication due to its geographic isolation.
Capacity and technology
Publicly available information does not disclose the design capacity, fiber pair count, or specific technology used in the ALME cable. Without operator documentation or reliable secondary sources, attributing these parameters would be speculative. Given its commissioning in 1990, the cable's original technology may have been based on early optical fiber systems, but it is possible that upgrades have occurred over the decades to meet modern demand.
Latency: the physics
The computed theoretical one-way light propagation latency for the 198 km wet segment of the ALME cable is approximately 1.0 ms, with a round-trip time (RTT) floor of 1.9 ms. However, real-world latency is higher due to additional factors such as land-based network tails at both ends, terminal equipment processing delays, and routing inefficiencies. No live measurements are currently available for this cable, so its actual performance cannot be independently verified.
Redundancy: what happens if it breaks
Melilla is also connected by the Roquetas-Melilla (CAM) cable, providing redundancy in the event of a failure of the ALME cable. Redundancy is a standard practice in submarine cable systems to ensure continuity of service, especially for geographically isolated locations like Melilla. If the ALME cable were to experience an outage, traffic could be rerouted through the CAM cable, minimizing disruption. Repairs to submarine cables typically involve deploying specialized vessels equipped with cable recovery and splicing tools, but the specific repair logistics for the ALME cable are not documented.
Bottom line
- The Almería-Melilla (ALME) cable spans 198 km across the Alboran Sea, connecting mainland Spain to Melilla.
- Owned by Telefonica, it has been in service since 1990 according to GeoCables records.
- Technical details such as design capacity, fiber pairs, and supplier are not publicly disclosed.
- Melilla has redundancy through the Roquetas-Melilla (CAM) cable.
- Its theoretical RTT floor is approximately 1.9 ms, but real-world latency is higher due to additional factors.