Yellow

Yellow: a transatlantic submarine cable

The Yellow cable is a submarine telecommunications system connecting Bellport in the United States to Bude in the United Kingdom. Spanning 7,001 km, it has been operational since 2000, according to GeoCables records. It is owned by Colt, a telecommunications provider known for its focus on enterprise connectivity. Yellow is listed as in service, and while its design capacity, fiber pair count, supplier, and technology are not publicly disclosed, it plays a role in the competitive transatlantic corridor. What makes Yellow notable is its longevity and the presence of newer alternatives in the same corridor, such as the Grace Hopper cable. This raises questions about how Yellow fits into the evolving landscape of transatlantic connectivity. Additionally, there is limited public information about its technical specifications, which makes it difficult to assess its current performance relative to newer systems.

Quick facts

Cable name	Yellow
Length	7,001 km
Ready for service	2000 (GeoCables database value; other sources not surfaced)
Owners	Colt
Status	In service
Design capacity	Not disclosed
Fiber pairs	Not disclosed
Supplier	Not disclosed
Technology	Not disclosed
Landing points	Bellport (United States); Bude (United Kingdom)
Alternatives in the same corridor	Grace Hopper

Show Yellow on the interactive cable map

Route

Yellow connects Bellport, located on Long Island in the United States, to Bude, a coastal town in Cornwall, United Kingdom. Bellport is also the landing site for the Grace Hopper cable, while Bude hosts a significant number of submarine cables, including 2Africa, Amitie, Apollo, Europe India Gateway (EIG), Glo-1, Grace Hopper, and Pan European Crossing (UK-Ireland). This makes Bude a major hub for international connectivity. The transatlantic corridor served by Yellow is one of the most heavily trafficked routes for global telecommunications, linking North America and Europe. The cable's route across the Atlantic Ocean is typical for systems in this corridor, balancing considerations of undersea topography, geopolitical stability, and proximity to major data centers.

Why it was built and what it carries

Yellow was built to meet the growing demand for transatlantic data connectivity in the late 1990s and early 2000s, a period marked by rapid internet expansion and increasing globalization. While specific details about its design capacity and technology are not publicly disclosed, it would have been engineered to handle significant volumes of data traffic, including voice, internet, and enterprise communications. Today, Yellow operates alongside newer cables like Grace Hopper, which offer advanced technologies and higher capacities. Despite this, Yellow remains in service, suggesting that it continues to fulfill a role in Colt's network strategy, possibly as a supplementary or backup route for enterprise customers.

History: what can be established

GeoCables records indicate that Yellow became ready for service in 2000. Publicly available industry sources do not contradict this date, nor do they provide additional context about its construction or initial deployment. The cable's ownership by Colt aligns with the company's focus on providing connectivity solutions for businesses. No major upgrades, outages, or repairs specific to Yellow have been documented in public sources, leaving its operational history largely opaque. This lack of data is not unusual for older submarine cables, which often receive less attention than newer systems.

Capacity and technology

The design capacity, fiber pair count, supplier, and technology of Yellow are not disclosed in public records. Without operator documentation, attributing specific figures or technical details would be speculative. It is reasonable to assume that the cable's original design reflected the state of the art in the late 1990s, but its current capabilities are unclear. Given the age of the cable, it is likely that its capacity has been augmented through upgrades to terminal equipment, a common practice for older systems. However, without confirmation from Colt or other reliable sources, the extent of such upgrades cannot be stated.

Latency: the physics

The computed one-way light propagation latency over Yellow's 7,001 km wet segment is approximately 34.3 ms, with a theoretical round-trip time (RTT) floor of 68.6 ms. These values assume ideal conditions and do not account for additional latency introduced by land tails, terminal equipment, and internet routing. Live measurements from remote probes show a minimum RTT of 80.1 ms and an average of 82.0 ms between Bellport and Bude. This discrepancy between theoretical and measured values is expected, as real-world latency includes factors such as network congestion, routing inefficiencies, and equipment delays.

Redundancy: what happens if it breaks

If Yellow were to experience an outage, redundancy in the transatlantic corridor would be provided by alternative cables landing at both Bellport and Bude. The Grace Hopper cable, which shares landing points with Yellow, is the most direct alternative. Additional redundancy is available through other systems landing at Bude, such as Apollo and Europe India Gateway (EIG). Repairing submarine cables typically involves locating the fault using specialized equipment, deploying cable ships to retrieve the damaged section, and splicing in new cable. These operations can take weeks, depending on the location and severity of the fault.

Bottom line

• Yellow is a 7,001 km transatlantic submarine cable connecting Bellport, United States, to Bude, United Kingdom.
• Owned by Colt, it has been in service since 2000, according to GeoCables records.
• Technical specifications such as design capacity, fiber pairs, supplier, and technology are not publicly disclosed.
• Theoretical latency is 68.6 ms RTT over the wet segment; live measurements show 80.1-82.0 ms RTT.
• Redundancy is provided by the Grace Hopper cable and other systems landing at Bude.