Halaihai

Halaihai: Planned Trans-Pacific Submarine Cable

The Halaihai submarine cable is a planned trans-Pacific telecommunications system owned by Google, with an anticipated ready-for-service (RFS) year of 2027. Spanning approximately 17,483 kilometers, the cable is designed to connect key landing points in French Polynesia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Chile, providing enhanced connectivity across the Pacific Ocean. As of now, the cable is not yet operational, and its design capacity, fiber pair count, supplier, and specific technological details have not been disclosed in publicly available sources. What makes Halaihai particularly notable is its extensive route, which bridges diverse regions of the Pacific and South America. The cable's landing points include locations that already host multiple submarine cables, creating opportunities for redundancy and interconnection. However, significant uncertainties remain regarding its technical specifications and potential performance, as no detailed documentation has been made public.

Quick facts

Cable name	Halaihai
Length (km)	17,483
Ready for service	2027 (GeoCables database value)
Owner	Google
Status	Planned - not yet in operation
Design capacity	Not disclosed
Fiber pairs	Not disclosed
Supplier	Not disclosed
Technology	Not disclosed
Landing points	Faratea (French Polynesia), Papenoo (French Polynesia), Tanguisson Point (Guam), Tinian (Northern Mariana Islands), Valparaíso (Chile)

Show Halaihai on the interactive cable map

Route

Halaihai's route spans the Pacific Ocean, linking several geographically and economically significant regions. The cable's landing points include: - **Faratea and Papenoo, French Polynesia**: These locations are central to connectivity in the South Pacific and are already served by other cables such as Bulikula, Honomoana, and Honotua. - **Tanguisson Point, Guam**: A major hub for submarine cables in the Pacific, hosting systems like the Asia-America Gateway (AAG) Cable System, Australia-Japan Cable (AJC), Mariana-Guam Cable, Proa, and TPU. - **Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands**: Another important node in the Pacific, connected by cables such as Bulikula, Mariana-Guam Cable, Proa, and TPU. - **Valparaíso, Chile**: A key landing point on the South American coast, already served by cables like Curie, Prat, South America-1 (SAm-1), South American Crossing (SAC), and South Pacific Cable System (SPCS)/Mistral. This route positions Halaihai to potentially enhance connectivity between Oceania, Asia, and South America, regions with growing demand for international bandwidth.

Why it was built and what it carries

Halaihai is being developed to meet the increasing demand for high-capacity, low-latency connectivity across the Pacific Ocean. As a Google-owned cable, it is likely intended to support the company's global network infrastructure, including data centers and cloud services, while also providing additional interconnection opportunities for regional operators. The cable's extensive route could help improve connectivity for underserved regions, such as French Polynesia and the Northern Mariana Islands, while also bolstering international links to South America.

History: what can be established

According to the GeoCables database, Halaihai is expected to be ready for service in 2027. As of now, there are no publicly available details regarding the cable's construction timeline, supplier, or specific technological features. If industry sources suggest a different RFS year, this would need to be investigated further. Discrepancies in RFS dates for submarine cables often arise due to delays in permitting, construction, or testing phases, or due to updates from operators as project timelines evolve.

Capacity and technology

No public information is available regarding Halaihai's design capacity, fiber pair count, supplier, or technology. Without operator documentation, attributing specific capabilities to the cable would be speculative. However, given its ownership by Google, it is reasonable to assume that the cable will employ advanced technologies to support high-capacity data transmission.

Latency: the physics

The theoretical one-way light propagation latency for Halaihai's wet segment (17,483 km) is approximately 85.7 milliseconds, with a round-trip time (RTT) floor of 171.4 milliseconds. This calculation assumes light traveling at 200,000 to 204,000 km/s in optical fiber. Real-world latency will be higher due to factors such as land-based routing, terminal equipment delays, and network congestion. Live measurements from remote probes, which capture the full internet path rather than the cable itself, show significantly higher latencies. For example, the Tinian to Valparaíso path records a minimum RTT of 329.8 ms and an average of 365.5 ms, while Valparaíso to Tinian shows a minimum RTT of 274.5 ms and an average of 281.7 ms. These values reflect the combined impact of terrestrial infrastructure and routing inefficiencies. Notably, one measurement from Sao Paulo to Valparaíso records a minimum latency of 53.2 ms, which is below the physical floor of 171.4 ms. This is a measurement artifact caused by rate-limited ICMP replies from intermediate routers and should not be interpreted as the cable's performance.

Redundancy: what happens if it breaks

Halaihai's landing points are already served by multiple submarine cables, providing redundancy in case of outages. For example: - **Faratea and Papenoo**: Connected to Bulikula, Honomoana, and Honotua. - **Tanguisson Point**: Hosts the AAG Cable System, AJC, Mariana-Guam Cable, Proa, and TPU. - **Tinian**: Linked to Bulikula, Mariana-Guam Cable, Proa, and TPU. - **Valparaíso**: Served by Curie, Prat, SAm-1, SAC, and SPCS/Mistral. In the event of a fault, traffic can be rerouted through these alternative systems, though repair operations for submarine cables typically involve specialized ships and can take weeks to complete, depending on the location and severity of the damage.

Bottom line

• Halaihai is a planned trans-Pacific submarine cable owned by Google, expected to be ready for service in 2027.
• Its route spans 17,483 km, connecting French Polynesia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Chile.
• Technical specifications such as design capacity, fiber pairs, supplier, and technology have not been disclosed.
• Theoretical latency for the wet segment is approximately 171.4 ms RTT, though real-world measurements are higher.
• Existing cables at landing points provide redundancy in case of outages.