Anjana

Anjana: Meta's transatlantic submarine cable

The Anjana cable is a submarine telecommunications system connecting Myrtle Beach, United States, to Santander, Spain. Spanning 7,121 kilometers across the Atlantic Ocean, it is owned by Meta (formerly Facebook). The cable is listed as in service, with GeoCables recording its ready-for-service (RFS) year as 2026. However, industry sources do not universally confirm this date, and no detailed public information is available about its design capacity, fiber pair count, or supplier. What makes Anjana notable is its placement within a corridor already hosting multiple submarine cables at both landing points, such as Confluence-1, Firmina, Nuvem, and Project Waterworth in Myrtle Beach, and Sol in Santander. This clustering suggests a strategic redundancy for Meta's infrastructure. Additionally, latency measurements highlight the challenges of accurately assessing performance over the full internet path, with artifacts in some remote probe results requiring careful interpretation.

Quick facts

Cable name	Anjana
Length	7,121 km
Ready-for-service year	2026 (GeoCables database; industry sources may vary)
Owner	Meta
Status	In service
Design capacity	Not disclosed
Fiber pairs	Not disclosed
Supplier	Not disclosed
Technology	Not disclosed
Landing points	Myrtle Beach (United States); Santander (Spain)

Show Anjana on the interactive cable map

Route

The Anjana cable connects Myrtle Beach on the eastern coast of the United States to Santander in northern Spain. Myrtle Beach is a hub for several submarine cables, making it an important node for transatlantic connectivity. Similarly, Santander serves as a landing point for the Sol cable, further solidifying its role in European telecommunications infrastructure. The route spans the Atlantic Ocean, traversing deep-sea environments that require specialized engineering for cable laying and maintenance.

Why it was built and what it carries

Anjana was likely built to support Meta's growing demand for high-capacity, low-latency connectivity between North America and Europe. As Meta continues to expand its data-intensive services, including social media platforms, virtual reality, and cloud computing, dedicated infrastructure such as Anjana helps ensure reliable data transfer. While specific details about its payload are not publicly disclosed, it is reasonable to assume that the cable carries a mix of private Meta traffic and potentially leased capacity to other operators.

History: what can be established

GeoCables records the cable's ready-for-service year as 2026, but this date may be subject to debate. Some industry sources occasionally report discrepancies in RFS years, which can arise due to delays in construction, regulatory approvals, or updates to project timelines. Without corroboration from Meta or other official documentation, the 2026 date remains the most authoritative reference.

Capacity and technology

Publicly available data does not specify the design capacity, fiber pair count, or technology employed in the Anjana cable. Modern submarine cables typically use dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) to maximize data throughput, but attributing this to Anjana without operator confirmation would be speculative. Similarly, the supplier and the number of repeaters along the route are unknown.

Latency: the physics

The theoretical one-way light propagation time for Anjana over its 7,121 km wet segment is approximately 34.9 milliseconds, yielding a round-trip time (RTT) floor of 69.8 milliseconds. Real-world latency is invariably higher due to additional factors such as land-based network segments, terminal equipment, and routing inefficiencies. GeoCables conducted live latency measurements over the full internet path, not the cable itself. For example, the measured RTT between Santander and Myrtle Beach ranged from 86.9 ms to 112.0 ms, exceeding the theoretical floor due to the aforementioned factors. Some measurements, such as those from Minsk and Kyiv to Santander, reported latencies below the physical floor, which are artifacts caused by rate-limited ICMP replies from intermediate routers. These artifacts highlight the limitations of remote probes in accurately assessing cable performance.

Redundancy: what happens if it breaks

Anjana's landing points are well-integrated into broader submarine cable networks. Myrtle Beach hosts multiple cables, including Confluence-1, Firmina, Nuvem, and Project Waterworth, while Santander connects to the Sol cable. This redundancy ensures alternative routes for transatlantic traffic in the event of a failure. Repairs to submarine cables typically involve specialized ships equipped with cable-laying and recovery tools, but downtime can last weeks depending on the nature of the damage and environmental conditions.

Bottom line

• Anjana spans 7,121 km, connecting Myrtle Beach (United States) to Santander (Spain).
• Owned by Meta, it is listed as in service, with a recorded RFS year of 2026.
• Design capacity, fiber pairs, supplier, and technology are not publicly disclosed.
• Theoretical RTT over the wet segment is 69.8 ms; real-world latency is higher.
• Redundancy is provided by multiple cables at both landing points.
• Live latency measurements include artifacts, requiring careful interpretation.