Google and the Chilean government have signed an agreement to install the Chile Submarine Humboldt Cable, a 14,800 km undersea fiber-optic line linking Valparaíso, Chile, with Sydney via French Polynesia. Slated for completion by 2027, it will be the first-ever direct South Pacific cable. The investment is expected to cost between US$300–550 million, with Chile contributing US$25 million. The Humboldt Cable positions Chile as a regional digital gateway and strengthens connectivity between Asia-Pacific and Latin America.
The Chile Submarine Humboldt Cable, envisioned for deployment in 2027, is a 14,800-kilometer (9,200-mile) submarine data cable that will connect Chile’s coastal city of Valparaíso with Sydney, Australia through French Polynesia.
The initiative is being launched almost a decade after it was first proposed in 2016, and six years after the initial studies to determine its feasibility.
“This is the first submarine cable in the South Pacific, so it’s an important commitment”, Chilean Transport Minister Juan Carlos Muñoz told journalists.
Chile Submarine Humboldt Cable and Its Deeper Purposes
Chile, home to one of Google’s largest data centers in Latin America, is currently connected to the United States and the rest of the region via an undersea cable. This cable also provides Chile with a longer route to other continents.
Officials from both Google and the Chilean government hailed the project as critical infrastructure with potential to attract millions of dollars in investment from major tech companies, mining and banking firms in Chile and Australia.
“The idea of building this cable is that it can also be used not only by Google but also by other users, such as technology companies operating in Chile,” said Cristian Ramos, director of telecommunications infrastructure for Latin America at Alphabet, Google’s parent company.
Although Google did not disclose its total investment, Patricio Rey, general manager of local partner Desarrollo País, a state-owned infrastructure company, estimated the cable project’s value at $300 million to $550 million, with Chile contributing $25 million.
The Humboldt Cable will establish Chile as a data gateway for the Asia-Pacific, while strengthening its relations with Asian nations, especially China, its largest trading partner. It also comes as demand for undersea cables surges due to increased reliance on cloud computing services.