Carnival Submarine Network-1 (CSN-1): Connecting the Americas
The Carnival Submarine Network-1 (CSN-1) is a submarine cable system owned by Telconet, spanning approximately 4670 kilometers and linking six landing points across Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Mexico, and the United States. It is listed as in service, with GeoCables recording its ready-for-service (RFS) year as 2026. Despite its operational status, several technical details about the cable, including its design capacity, fiber pair count, supplier, and specific technology, remain undisclosed in public sources.
What makes CSN-1 particularly interesting is its route, which connects key economic and telecommunications hubs across the Americas. It shares landing points with other major cables, creating opportunities for redundancy and interconnection. However, the absence of publicly available data on its design capacity and fiber pairs leaves questions about its performance and role in the broader regional network infrastructure.
Quick facts
| Name | Carnival Submarine Network-1 (CSN-1) |
| Length | 4670 km |
| Ready-for-Service Year | 2026 (GeoCables database) |
| Owner | Telconet |
| Status | In service |
| Design Capacity | Not disclosed |
| Fiber Pairs | Not disclosed |
| Supplier | Not disclosed |
| Technology | Not disclosed |
| Landing Points | Ancon (Ecuador), Barranquilla (Colombia), Cancún (Mexico), Cristóbal (Panama), Naples (United States), Panama City (Panama) |
Route
The CSN-1 connects six landing points across the Americas:
- Ancon, Ecuador
- Barranquilla, Colombia
- Cancún, Mexico
- Cristóbal and Panama City, Panama
- Naples, United States
These locations represent strategic hubs for telecommunications and commerce. Barranquilla and Cancún are particularly notable as they host multiple other submarine cables, including the
America Movil Submarine Cable System-1 (AMX-1),
TAM-1, and others, providing redundancy and interconnection options.
Why it was built and what it carries
The CSN-1 was likely built to enhance connectivity between South America, Central America, and North America, addressing growing demand for bandwidth and reliable telecommunications infrastructure in the region. While its specific design capacity is not publicly disclosed, it is reasonable to assume that the cable plays a role in supporting internet traffic, cloud services, and data center interconnections across the Americas.
History: what can be established
GeoCables records the cable's ready-for-service year as 2026, but public sources do not provide corroborating details. If industry sources suggest a different RFS year, the discrepancy could arise from delays in construction, differences in documentation, or varying definitions of "ready-for-service." Telconet's ownership of the cable aligns with its role as a prominent telecommunications provider in the region.
Capacity and technology
Publicly available data does not disclose the design capacity, fiber pair count, supplier, or specific technology of CSN-1. Without operator documentation, attributing these values would be speculative. It is unclear whether the cable employs advanced technologies such as space-division multiplexing (SDM), which is increasingly common in modern submarine cables to maximize capacity.
Latency: the physics
The computed one-way light propagation latency over the 4670 km wet segment of CSN-1 is approximately 22.9 milliseconds, with a theoretical round-trip time (RTT) floor of 45.8 milliseconds. However, real-world latency measurements are higher due to additional factors such as land tails, terminal equipment, and routing inefficiencies.
GeoCables' live measurements, which capture the full internet path rather than the cable itself, show the following:
- Ancon -> Naples: minimum 77.1 ms, average 84.8 ms
- Naples -> Ancon: minimum 12.0 ms (artifact), average 86.3 ms
- Sao Paulo -> Naples: minimum and average 118.5 ms
- Minsk -> Naples: minimum and average 146.2 ms
- Singapore -> Naples: minimum 252.7 ms, average 254.4 ms
- Sao Paulo -> Ancon: minimum 113.8 ms, average 114.0 ms
The minimum 12.0 ms measurement from Naples to Ancon is flagged as an artifact, as it falls below the physical latency floor and likely reflects rate-limited ICMP replies from intermediate routers rather than actual cable performance.
Redundancy: what happens if it breaks
The CSN-1 corridor benefits from redundancy through other cables at its landing points. For example:
In the event of a failure, traffic can be rerouted through these alternative systems. Repairs to submarine cables typically involve locating the fault, deploying specialized vessels, and replacing or splicing the damaged section-a process that can take weeks depending on weather and logistical challenges.
Bottom line
- CSN-1 spans 4670 km and connects six landing points across Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Mexico, and the United States.
- Owned by Telconet, it is listed as in service, with an RFS year of 2026 according to GeoCables.
- Design capacity, fiber pairs, supplier, and technology are not publicly disclosed.
- Computed latency floor is approximately 45.8 ms RTT over the wet segment, but real-world measurements are higher due to additional factors.
- Redundancy is provided by other cables at shared landing points, ensuring resilience in case of outages.