BRUSA: Transatlantic Submarine Cable Linking Brazil and the United States
The BRUSA submarine cable system is an 11,000-kilometer-long fiber optic cable connecting Brazil and the United States, with landing points in
Fortaleza and
Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, and
San Juan and
Virginia Beach in the United States. Owned by Telxius, a subsidiary of Telefónica, BRUSA has been listed as in service since 2018 according to GeoCables data, though its design capacity, fiber pair count, supplier, and specific technological details have not been publicly disclosed.
What makes BRUSA particularly interesting is its role in bridging South America and North America, providing enhanced connectivity between these regions. Its landing points in Fortaleza and Rio de Janeiro are hubs for multiple other cables, creating redundancy and facilitating interconnection. However, some aspects of its operation, such as its actual capacity and latency performance, remain somewhat opaque due to limited public documentation.
Quick facts
| Cable name | BRUSA |
| Length (km) | 11,000 |
| Ready-for-service year | 2018 (GeoCables database value) |
| Owners | Telxius |
| Status | In service |
| Design capacity | Not disclosed |
| Fiber pairs | Not disclosed |
| Supplier | Not disclosed |
| Technology | Not disclosed |
| Landing points | Fortaleza (Brazil), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), San Juan (United States), Virginia Beach (United States) |
🗺 Show BRUSA on the interactive cable map
Route
BRUSA connects the eastern coast of Brazil to the eastern United States via the Caribbean. Its landing points are strategically located: Fortaleza and Rio de Janeiro are major telecommunications hubs in Brazil, while San Juan serves as a key node in Puerto Rico, and Virginia Beach is an emerging landing site for transatlantic cables in the United States. This route facilitates connectivity between South America, the Caribbean, and North America, supporting both regional and international data traffic.
Why it was built and what it carries
BRUSA was built to meet growing demand for high-speed, high-capacity connectivity between South America and North America. Brazil, as the largest economy in South America, has significant data traffic requirements, driven by its population and business activities. The cable also supports Telefónica's operations in the Americas, providing infrastructure for its telecommunications and cloud services. While specific traffic types are not disclosed, BRUSA likely carries a mix of enterprise data, internet traffic, and cloud services.
History: what can be established
GeoCables lists BRUSA as ready for service in 2018. While this date is generally consistent with industry reports, discrepancies in submarine cable commissioning dates are not uncommon due to varying definitions of "ready-for-service" (e.g., operational testing vs. commercial activation). No conflicting dates have surfaced in public sources for BRUSA, so 2018 remains the most reliable reference point.
Capacity and technology
Public sources do not disclose BRUSA's design capacity, fiber pair count, supplier, or specific technological features. Without operator documentation, attributing these parameters would be speculative. However, given its relatively recent deployment, BRUSA likely employs advanced optical transmission technologies such as wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) to maximize capacity. Submarine cables of this era typically support terabit-scale data rates, but the exact figure for BRUSA remains unknown.
Latency: the physics
The computed one-way light propagation latency over BRUSA's 11,000 km wet segment is approximately 53.9 milliseconds, with a theoretical round-trip time (RTT) floor of 107.8 milliseconds. Real-world latency measurements, however, are higher due to land-based network segments, terminal equipment, and routing inefficiencies. GeoCables live measurements for the Virginia Beach to Rio de Janeiro path show a minimum RTT of 125.9 ms and an average of 135.0 ms across 103 checks. These figures reflect the combined latency of the cable and the broader internet path, not the cable alone.
Redundancy: what happens if it breaks
BRUSA's landing points are connected to multiple other submarine cables, providing redundancy in case of outages. Fortaleza hosts nine other cables, including
EllaLink,
Monet, and SACS, while Rio de Janeiro connects to seven others, such as
Malbec and
GlobeNet. San Juan and Virginia Beach also serve as landing sites for multiple cables, including PCCS and
MAREA, respectively. Standard industry practices for submarine cable repair involve deploying specialized cable ships to locate and fix faults, which can take several days to weeks depending on the severity and location of the damage.
Bottom line
- BRUSA is an 11,000 km submarine cable connecting Brazil and the United States, operational since 2018.
- Owned by Telxius, its design capacity, fiber pairs, and supplier have not been disclosed.
- Landing points include Fortaleza, Rio de Janeiro, San Juan, and Virginia Beach, all hubs for other cables.
- Computed latency is 53.9 ms one-way, with real-world RTT measurements averaging 135.0 ms.
- Redundancy is supported by multiple alternative cables at each landing point.