Caucasus Cable System: Connecting Bulgaria and Georgia
The Caucasus Cable System is a submarine telecommunications cable linking
Balchik, Bulgaria, to
Poti, Georgia, across the Black Sea. Spanning approximately 1,200 kilometers, it is owned and operated by Caucasus Online and has been listed as in service since 2008. This cable serves as a key route for internet and data traffic between Europe and the Caucasus region, providing connectivity to a geographically strategic but often underserved area.
Several aspects of the cable remain uncertain or undisclosed in publicly available sources, including its design capacity, fiber pair count, supplier, and specific technological details. These gaps in information highlight the challenges of documenting submarine cables, particularly in regions where transparency about infrastructure can be limited. Additionally, latency measurements from remote probes illustrate the complexities of interpreting real-world network performance, as they reflect the full internet path rather than the cable alone.
Quick facts
| Name | Caucasus Cable System |
| Length | 1,200 km |
| Ready for Service (RFS) | 2008 (GeoCables database value; conflicting industry sources not surfaced) |
| Owners | Caucasus Online |
| Status | In service |
| Design Capacity | Not disclosed |
| Fiber Pairs | Not disclosed |
| Supplier | Not disclosed |
| Technology | Not disclosed |
| Landing Points | Balchik (Bulgaria), Poti (Georgia) |
Route
The Caucasus Cable System connects Balchik, a coastal town in northeastern Bulgaria, to Poti, a port city on Georgia's Black Sea coast. This route traverses the Black Sea, providing a direct link between Eastern Europe and the Caucasus region. Balchik serves as the European landing point, while Poti is a critical node for connectivity in Georgia. The cable's placement in the Black Sea makes it an important corridor for data traffic in a region with limited alternative routes.
Why it was built and what it carries
The cable was built to enhance connectivity between Europe and the Caucasus, a region with growing demand for internet and data services. By providing a direct connection between Bulgaria and Georgia, the Caucasus Cable System facilitates international communication and supports economic development in the region. While specific data about its traffic volumes and carried services are not publicly disclosed, it likely supports a mix of internet, voice, and enterprise data services.
History: what can be established
According to GeoCables data, the Caucasus Cable System was ready for service in 2008. Publicly available information does not suggest any conflicting dates for its commissioning. The cable was developed by Caucasus Online, a Georgian telecommunications company, which has maintained ownership since its inception. The strategic importance of the cable lies in its role as a direct link between Europe and the Caucasus, bypassing longer terrestrial routes through Russia or Turkey.
Capacity and technology
The design capacity, fiber pair count, supplier, and specific technology used in the Caucasus Cable System are not publicly disclosed. Without operator documentation, these details cannot be reliably stated. Like most modern submarine cables, it is likely to use dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) technology to maximize data throughput, but attributing this technology to the cable without confirmation would be speculative.
Latency: the physics
The theoretical one-way light propagation latency over the 1,200 km wet segment of the cable is approximately 5.9 milliseconds, with a round-trip time (RTT) floor of 11.8 milliseconds. Real-world latency measurements, however, are higher due to additional factors such as land tails, terminal equipment, and routing inefficiencies.
GeoCables' live measurements, which reflect the full internet path rather than the cable alone, show a minimum RTT of 42.1 milliseconds and an average RTT of 89.1 milliseconds between Balchik and Poti over 116 checks. These values are significantly above the theoretical floor, indicating the influence of terrestrial routing and network congestion. A measurement of 5.0 milliseconds from Sevastopol to Balchik is flagged as a likely artifact, as it falls below the physical latency floor and is not representative of the cable's actual performance.
Redundancy: what happens if it breaks
If the Caucasus Cable System were to experience a fault, alternative routes through other cables landing at Poti, such as
Georgia-Russia and
Kardesa, could provide some redundancy. However, these alternatives may not fully compensate for the loss of international connectivity to Bulgaria, as they are likely optimized for different traffic patterns. Repairing submarine cables typically involves deploying specialized cable ships to locate, retrieve, and repair the damaged section, a process that can take days to weeks depending on the nature of the fault and weather conditions.
Bottom line
- The Caucasus Cable System connects Balchik, Bulgaria, to Poti, Georgia, across the Black Sea.
- It spans 1,200 km and has been in service since 2008, according to GeoCables data.
- Ownership is attributed to Caucasus Online; design capacity, fiber pairs, supplier, and technology are not disclosed.
- Theoretical latency over the wet segment is 11.8 ms RTT, but real-world measurements are significantly higher due to network factors.
- Alternative cables at Poti provide some redundancy, but full replacement of its route would be challenging.