TIKAL-AMX3

TIKAL-AMX3: A Regional Submarine Cable Linking the Americas

The TIKAL-AMX3 submarine cable is a 1935-kilometer-long fiber optic system connecting Boca Raton in the United States, Cancún in Mexico, and Puerto Barrios in Guatemala. Owned jointly by América Móvil (Claro) and Telxius, the cable is listed as in service and is designed to enhance connectivity between North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. While the GeoCables database records its ready-for-service (RFS) year as 2026, this date may warrant scrutiny, as submarine cable projects often have conflicting timelines in industry sources. What makes TIKAL-AMX3 particularly intriguing is the scarcity of publicly disclosed technical details. Information about its design capacity, fiber pair count, supplier, and technology remains unavailable, leaving analysts to rely on general industry practices for context. Additionally, live latency measurements from remote probes provide insights into the cable's real-world performance, though these reflect the full internet path rather than the cable itself.

Quick facts

Cable name	TIKAL-AMX3
Length	1935 km
Ready-for-service year	2026 (GeoCables database; conflicting sources possible)
Owners	América Móvil (Claro), Telxius
Status	In service
Design capacity	Not disclosed
Fiber pairs	Not disclosed
Supplier	Not disclosed
Technology	Not disclosed
Landing points	Boca Raton (United States), Cancún (Mexico), Puerto Barrios (Guatemala)

Show TIKAL-AMX3 on the interactive cable map

Route

The TIKAL-AMX3 cable connects three landing points: Boca Raton in Florida, Cancún on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, and Puerto Barrios on Guatemala's Caribbean coast. Boca Raton serves as a major hub for submarine cables linking the Americas, with numerous systems landing there, including Bahamas Internet Cable System (BICS), CELIA, and Monet. Cancún and Puerto Barrios are similarly active nodes in the regional cable network, hosting connections like AMX-1, ARCOS, and TAM-1. This geographic corridor supports data exchange across diverse regions, including the United States, Central America, and South America.

Why it was built and what it carries

The TIKAL-AMX3 cable was most likely built to enhance regional connectivity and support growing demand for broadband services and cloud applications. América Móvil and Telxius, both major players in the telecommunications industry, likely envisioned the cable as a means to strengthen their networks and improve latency for users in the Americas. While specific traffic types are not disclosed, such cables typically carry internet, voice, and enterprise data services.

History: what can be established

The GeoCables database lists the cable's ready-for-service year as 2026, but industry sources sometimes report different timelines for submarine cable projects. Discrepancies can arise from delays in construction, permitting, or testing, or from differences in how "ready-for-service" is defined. Without corroborating documentation, it cannot be definitively stated whether 2026 is accurate or if the cable was operational earlier.

Capacity and technology

Publicly available information does not disclose the design capacity, fiber pair count, supplier, or specific technology of TIKAL-AMX3. The lack of transparency is not uncommon in the submarine cable industry, where operators sometimes withhold technical specifications for competitive or security reasons. Consequently, any attempt to estimate these parameters without operator documentation would be speculative.

Latency: the physics

The theoretical one-way light propagation time over the cable's 1935-kilometer wet segment is approximately 9.5 milliseconds, with a round-trip time (RTT) floor of 19.0 milliseconds. However, real-world latency measurements are higher due to additional factors such as land-based network segments, terminal equipment, and routing inefficiencies. GeoCables live measurements provide the following RTT data:

• Boca Raton -> Puerto Barrios: min 30.2 ms, avg 53.2 ms
• Minsk -> Boca Raton: min 153.1 ms, avg 155.4 ms
• Sao Paulo -> Boca Raton: min 132.3 ms, avg 139.6 ms
• Singapore -> Boca Raton: min 260.0 ms, avg 275.1 ms
• Puerto Barrios -> Boca Raton: min 37.0 ms, avg 41.3 ms
• Sao Paulo -> Puerto Barrios: min 137.6 ms, avg 142.9 ms

These values reflect the full internet path and include latency contributions from terrestrial networks and intermediate nodes.

Redundancy: what happens if it breaks

The TIKAL-AMX3 corridor is supported by several alternative cables at its landing points. For example, Boca Raton hosts connections like Monet and South America-1 (SAm-1), while Cancún and Puerto Barrios are served by AMX-1, ARCOS, and TAM-1. These systems provide redundancy and ensure continued connectivity in the event of a failure. Repairs to submarine cables typically involve specialized vessels and can take weeks, depending on the location and severity of the damage.

Bottom line

• TIKAL-AMX3 is a 1935-kilometer submarine cable linking the United States, Mexico, and Guatemala.
• Owned by América Móvil and Telxius, it is listed as in service, with an RFS year of 2026 according to GeoCables.
• Technical details such as design capacity, fiber pairs, supplier, and technology are not publicly disclosed.
• Latency measurements suggest real-world RTTs higher than the theoretical floor due to network factors.
• Redundancy is provided by several other cables at its landing points, ensuring resilience in the corridor.