Amazon Web Services to Build Transatlantic Cable Between Ireland and Maryland

Nov. 5, 2025 — Amazon Web Services announced plans for Fastnet, a new transatlantic subsea cable linking Maryland and County Cork, Ireland, aimed at strengthening data connectivity for cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

Set to enter service in 2028, the system will establish a high-capacity route across the Atlantic, adding new landing points to keep data flowing even if other cables are disrupted. AWS said the project will expand the capacity and resilience of its global fiber backbone as AI-driven data traffic surges worldwide.

Fastnet is AWS’s first wholly owned transatlantic system, joining other subsea networks where the company holds capacity in the Pacific and Asia-Pacific regions, including the JUPITER cable between California and Japan. (The acronym stands for Japan–U.S.–Philippines IT Express Route.)

With a design capacity of 320 terabits per second, Fastnet will connect directly into AWS’s 9-million-kilometer global network, supporting rising demand for cloud infrastructure and cross-continental data exchange.

With capacity topping 320 terabits per second, Fastnet will plug directly into AWS’s vast global network, which now stretches more than 9 million kilometers. AWS said the system’s scale will help meet surging international demand for computing power, moving data faster and more efficiently between North America and Europe.

The cable will use additional protective steel layers in nearshore areas to guard against “natural and human activity.” AWS said new optical switching units along the route will enable quick, flexible rerouting and make it easier to add new fiber landing stations as demand increases.

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin called the project “a vote of confidence in Ireland’s digital future,” while Maryland Governor Wes Moore said it would help “secure Maryland’s status as a global hub for innovation, job creation, and high-tech investment.”

The project marks Maryland’s first subsea fiber-optic connection across the Atlantic.