Kourou, French Guiana

Kourou, French Guiana: Submarine Cable Landing Point

Kourou is a commune on the Atlantic coast of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in northeastern South America. As a submarine cable landing point, Kourou hosts one submarine cable, connecting it directly to the Eastern Caribbean island of Martinique. This single link positions Kourou as a node in a regional corridor between mainland South America and the French Caribbean territories.

The cable landing at Kourou is part of French Guiana's broader submarine cable infrastructure, which spans two landing points across the territory. The regional connectivity enabled by the Kourou landing point is oriented toward inter-island and continental-to-island connectivity, bridging the South American mainland with the Caribbean.

Cables Landing at Kourou, French Guiana

Kanawa is the submarine cable landing at Kourou. Spanning approximately 1,746 km, the Kanawa cable reached ready-for-service status in 2019 and connects Kourou, French Guiana with Martinique. The cable was recorded with a draft status at the time of its RFS designation. It represents French Guiana's first submarine cable to become operational, linking the South American territory directly to the French Caribbean island of Martinique.

Regional Context

Within French Guiana, Kourou is one of two submarine cable landing points, alongside Cayenne. Cayenne hosts two cables, making it the more connected of the two landing points in the territory. Kourou, with its single cable, plays a complementary role within French Guiana's overall submarine cable footprint.

Network Role

Kourou functions as a single-cable terminus in the French Guiana submarine cable network. The Kanawa cable it hosts establishes a direct submarine link between the South American mainland and Martinique in the Eastern Caribbean, forming a regional arc that connects French overseas territories across the Atlantic basin. This corridor is relatively compact at 1,746 km, oriented toward intra-French territorial connectivity rather than intercontinental routing.

As French Guiana's first submarine cable landing — with all cables in the territory having reached readiness only from 2019 onward — Kourou's position in the regional submarine cable graph reflects the early stage of the territory's undersea connectivity development. Its presence alongside Cayenne gives French Guiana two distinct access points, distributing the territory's submarine cable infrastructure across more than one location on its Atlantic coast.