Curie

Overview

The Curie submarine cable is a high-capacity intercontinental communications link spanning 10,476 kilometers. Commissioned and ready for service in 2020, it connects three key landing points across the Americas: Valparaíso in Chile, Balboa in Panama, and El Segundo in the United States. Owned entirely by Google, the cable is designed to facilitate robust data transfer between South America, Central America, and North America, supporting the growing demand for international connectivity in these regions.

Named after the renowned scientist Marie Curie, this cable represents a significant investment in global telecommunications infrastructure. Its strategic design bypasses traditional North American landing points like Miami, offering an alternative route that enhances latency and reliability for users in the Americas. The Curie cable serves as a vital backbone for internet traffic between these continents, supporting businesses, research, and digital services.

Route and Landings

The Curie cable’s route spans the Pacific Ocean, connecting three distinct landing points: Valparaíso in Chile, Balboa in Panama, and El Segundo in California, United States. Valparaíso, a coastal city in central Chile, serves as the southernmost landing point. This city is a major hub for Chile’s telecommunications infrastructure, making it an ideal location for the cable’s South American terminus. Chile’s geographic position along the Pacific coast allows for efficient connectivity to North America without requiring extensive overland routes.

Balboa, located near the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, is the cable’s Central American landing point. Panama’s strategic position as a gateway between continents makes it a key player in regional telecommunications. Balboa’s inclusion in the route ensures connectivity to Central America and the Caribbean while maintaining the cable’s focus on intercontinental traffic.

El Segundo, situated in Los Angeles County, California, is the northernmost landing point. As part of the greater Los Angeles area, El Segundo benefits from proximity to major data centers and internet exchange points in the United States. This location enables seamless integration with North America’s extensive digital infrastructure and provides a direct link to South America and Central America.

Ownership and History

The Curie submarine cable is owned and operated exclusively by Google. This ownership model reflects Google’s strategy to invest directly in critical infrastructure that supports its global services. By controlling the cable, Google ensures optimized performance and reliability for its applications and services, which include cloud computing, search, and video streaming.

The cable became operational in 2020, marking a significant milestone in Google’s efforts to expand its global network. Unlike many submarine cables that are owned by consortiums of telecommunications companies, Curie is a private cable. This approach allows Google to tailor the cable’s design and operation to its specific needs, ensuring high-speed connectivity and low latency for its users.

Curie’s deployment also highlights the growing trend of technology companies investing in submarine cable infrastructure. By establishing direct routes between continents, companies like Google are able to bypass traditional telecommunications networks, reducing costs and improving service quality.

What Our Measurements Show

Our live monitoring of the Curie cable reveals consistent performance across its 172 measured corridors. The best round-trip time (RTT) recorded is 116 milliseconds, while the average RTT is 162 milliseconds. These metrics underscore the cable’s efficiency in facilitating data transfer between its landing points.

The low latency achieved by Curie is particularly significant for applications requiring real-time data exchange, such as video conferencing, online gaming, and cloud computing. The direct route between Valparaíso, Balboa, and El Segundo minimizes the number of intermediary hops, contributing to improved speed and reliability.

Additionally, the cable’s performance supports the growing demand for intercontinental connectivity in the Americas. By providing a direct link between South America, Central America, and North America, Curie enhances the digital infrastructure available to businesses and consumers in these regions. This cable plays a crucial role in bridging the digital divide and fostering economic growth through improved telecommunications.