Lantau Island, China

Position in regional infrastructure

Lantau Island is the largest island of Hong Kong, at coordinates 22.271492°N, 113.948333°E in the South China Sea, west of Hong Kong's main commercial centres. For submarine cable infrastructure, Lantau Island hosts one of Hong Kong's principal cable landing zones, complementing other regional landings (Tseung Kwan O, Deep Water Bay, Cape D'Aguilar). Two major intercontinental cables land at Lantau Island, both providing Hong Kong with trans-Pacific and intra-Asia connectivity through different generations of submarine cable consortia.

Hong Kong's role as the densest cable hub in greater China makes Lantau Island a critical infrastructure asset. The location's geographic position at the mouth of the Pearl River estuary provides direct South China Sea access for cables routing to Southeast Asia, the Philippines and onward to the trans-Pacific network reaching California and Hawaii.

Submarine cables landing in Lantau Island

Asia-America Gateway (AAG) Cable System is a 20,000 km submarine cable in service since 2009, owned by an 18-member consortium including AT&T, BT, PLDT, Telstra, Telekom Malaysia, Singtel partner StarHub, and others. From Lantau Island, AAG reaches Brunei (Tungku), Guam (Tanguisson Point), Malaysia (Mersing), Philippines (La Union), Singapore (Changi North), Thailand (Sriracha), Vietnam (Vung Tau), and the United States (Hawaii Keawaula and California Morro Bay).

APCN-2 (Asia Pacific Cable Network 2) is a 19,000 km submarine cable in service since 2001, owned by a 22-member consortium including AT&T, BT, NTT, KDDI, Telstra, KT, LG Uplus, Tata Communications, Verizon, and others. From Lantau Island it reaches other Chinese landings (Chongming, Shantou), Japan (Chikura, Kitaibaraki), Malaysia (Cherating), Philippines (Batangas), Singapore (Katong), South Korea (Busan), and Taiwan (Tanshui).

Connection topology and redundancy

The two cables provide complementary intra-Asia and trans-Pacific reach. AAG specifically gives Hong Kong a direct path to the US west coast (California Morro Bay) and Hawaii without requiring transit via Japan or Korea. APCN-2 provides a denser East Asian intra-regional mesh (Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, mainland China) without trans-Pacific landings - relying on other cables (or onward connections through landings of those cables) to reach North America.

Owner diversity is significant - both consortia include US carriers (AT&T, Verizon), Japanese operators (NTT, KDDI for APCN-2; Singtel for AAG), Korean operators, Taiwanese operators (Chunghwa Telecom in APCN-2), and Chinese state operators (China Telecom, China Unicom in APCN-2). Hong Kong's position as a financial centre adjacent to mainland China benefits from this multi-jurisdictional ownership for resilience.

Geography and coordinates

The Lantau Island submarine cable landing sits at 22.271492°N, 113.948333°E (22°16'17"N, 113°56'54"E), on Lantau Island in Hong Kong, China. Lantau is the largest of Hong Kong's outlying islands and hosts Hong Kong International Airport. The South China Sea access provides direct cable approach corridors westward toward Southeast Asia.

Frequently asked questions

What submarine cables land at Lantau Island, Hong Kong?

Two major submarine cables land at Lantau Island: Asia-America Gateway (AAG, RFS 2009, 20,000 km, 18-operator consortium) and APCN-2 (RFS 2001, 19,000 km, 22-operator consortium).

What are the coordinates of the Lantau Island cable landing?

Lantau Island cable landing is at 22.271492°N, 113.948333°E (22°16'17"N, 113°56'54"E), on Lantau Island in Hong Kong, China.

Which countries connect to Hong Kong through Lantau Island?

Through AAG and APCN-2, Lantau Island connects Hong Kong to mainland China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Brunei, Guam, the United States (Hawaii and California).

When was the first submarine cable laid at Lantau Island?

The earliest in-service Lantau Island landing in the GeoCables dataset is APCN-2, in service since 2001. AAG followed in 2009.

Who operates the cables landing at Lantau Island?

Both cables are owned by large multi-operator consortia. AAG: 18 operators including AT&T, BT, PLDT, Telstra, Telekom Malaysia. APCN-2: 22 operators including AT&T, BT, NTT, KDDI, Telstra, Verizon, China Telecom, China Unicom, Chunghwa Telecom, KT.