Cabimas, Venezuela: no other cable lands within 50 km.
Carúpano, Venezuela: no other cable lands within 50 km.
Chichiriviche, Venezuela: no other cable lands within 50 km.
Coro, Venezuela: no other cable lands within 50 km.
Cumaná, Venezuela: no other cable lands within 50 km.
Higuerote, Venezuela: no other cable lands within 50 km.
Maracaibo, Venezuela: no other cable lands within 50 km.
Porlamar, Venezuela: no other cable lands within 50 km.
Puerto Cabello, Venezuela: no other cable lands within 50 km.
Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela: no other cable lands within 50 km.
On an island this means losing the submarine link; on the mainland traffic can still go over land.
No alerts from our monitoring on this cable in the last 180 days. Events feed →
Counted: other international cables landing in the same country (domestic cables between points of one country are not a way out), other cables at landing points within 50 km, and whether the country has land links. Not counted: cable capacity, operator contracts and satellite. Use as a first look at dependence, not as a statement of what would happen.
The Venezuelan Festoon is a submarine cable system that spans approximately 1,200 kilometers, connecting multiple coastal cities in Venezuela. Owned and operated by CANTV, Venezuela's state telecommunications company, the cable has been in service since 1998, according to GeoCables' records. It serves as a domestic connectivity solution, linking key urban and industrial centers along the country's northern coastline.
What makes the Venezuelan Festoon particularly notable is its extensive coverage within a single nation's territorial waters. Unlike many submarine cables that prioritize international connectivity, this system is entirely focused on domestic routes. However, many technical details about the cable-including its design capacity, fiber count, and supplier-are not publicly disclosed, leaving significant gaps in understanding its full capabilities.
The Venezuelan Festoon connects 12 landing points along Venezuela's northern coastline: Cabimas, Camuri, Carúpano, Chichiriviche, Coro, Cumaná, Higuerote, Maracaibo, Porlamar, Puerto Cabello, Puerto La Cruz, and Punto Fijo. These cities represent a mix of industrial hubs, tourist destinations, and urban centers, ensuring broad coverage across the region. The cable's layout forms a "festoon" pattern, looping along the coast to maximize domestic connectivity.
Punto Fijo, one of the cable's landing points, is also a termination site for the ARCOS cable, which provides international connectivity to other parts of the Americas. This overlap suggests potential redundancy or complementary routes for traffic originating from or destined for Venezuela.
Why it was built and what it carries
The Venezuelan Festoon was built to enhance domestic telecommunications infrastructure within Venezuela, connecting key coastal cities to support economic, industrial, and residential needs. As a domestic cable, it likely carries a mix of voice, internet, and data traffic, facilitating communication between regions without relying on international systems. Its strategic importance lies in its ability to provide reliable connectivity across Venezuela's coastal regions, which are home to a significant portion of the country's population and economic activity.
History: what can be established
GeoCables records the cable's ready-for-service (RFS) year as 1998. This date aligns with a period of significant investment in telecommunications infrastructure in Latin America, driven by the increasing demand for internet and digital services. However, no conflicting RFS dates have surfaced in publicly available industry sources, so the 1998 date is considered reliable.
CANTV, the cable's owner, is Venezuela's largest telecommunications provider and was a state-owned entity during the cable's construction. This ownership suggests that the project was likely part of a broader government initiative to modernize domestic communications infrastructure.
Capacity and technology
The design capacity, fiber pair count, supplier, and specific technology used in the Venezuelan Festoon are not publicly disclosed. Without operator documentation or reliable third-party sources, these details remain speculative. Given the cable's age, it is likely based on earlier-generation submarine cable technologies, but any assumptions about upgrades or expansions cannot be substantiated without further evidence.
Latency: the physics
The theoretical one-way light propagation latency for the cable's 1,200 km length is approximately 5.9 milliseconds, with a round-trip time (RTT) floor of 11.8 milliseconds. This calculation assumes optimal conditions, such as light traveling at 200,000 to 204,000 km/s in optical fiber. Real-world latency would be higher due to additional factors such as land-based network tails, terminal equipment delays, and routing inefficiencies. No live latency measurements are currently available for this cable.
Redundancy: what happens if it breaks
If the Venezuelan Festoon were to experience a fault, redundancy options within Venezuela would likely be limited to terrestrial networks or other domestic submarine systems, if any exist. At Punto Fijo, the ARCOS cable provides international connectivity, which could serve as an alternative for traffic routed through that landing point. Repairs to submarine cables typically involve specialized ships and equipment, which could introduce delays depending on the availability of resources and the nature of the fault.
Bottom line
The Venezuelan Festoon spans 1,200 km and connects 12 landing points along Venezuela's northern coast.
Owned by CANTV, it has been in service since 1998, according to GeoCables records.
Technical details such as design capacity, fiber pairs, supplier, and technology are not publicly disclosed.
Theoretical latency is approximately 5.9 ms one-way, but real-world latency is higher.
Redundancy options include the ARCOS cable at Punto Fijo and terrestrial networks.