Amazon's new transatlantic cable can stream over 12.5 HD million movies at once

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced Fastnet, a new cutting-edge transatlantic subsea fiber optic cable that will connect the east coast of the United States to Ireland. The installation is expected to be completed and operational in 2028, with the project set to "improve global connectivity and meet rising demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI)."

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Fastnet's cutting-edge fiber optic cable, image credit: Amazon.

The cable, which measures 37mm in thickness, surrounds its optical fiber core with tubing, steel strands, a copper conductor, polyethylene, more steel wiring, and nylon. Data-wise, it's designed to deliver speeds of 320 terabits per second (Tbps), equivalent to 40 terabytes per second (TB/s) or 40,000 gigabytes per second (GB/s).

"This scalable architecture is specifically designed to handle growing AI traffic loads," Amazon writes. "Allowing customers to rapidly expand their data demands while the system adapts to accommodate future growth."

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In terms of data, Amazon notes that the cable can transmit 12.5 million HD films simultaneously or transmit the entire digitized Library of Congress three times in a single second. Not that it will, at least right away, as this capacity is all about adding "multiple layers of redundancy" and ensuring uninterrupted operations for customers using AWS.

Fastnet is also a new path for Amazon's centralized real-time traffic monitoring systems, which spans 38 geographic regions and over nine million kilometers of subsea and terrestrial fiber optic cabling. Another fun fact, Amazon notes that this is enough cable to reach the Moon from the Earth and back again, 11 times. Even so, Fastnet is the first of its kind, taking this particular route from Maryland's Eastern Shore in the U.S. to County Cork, Ireland. The company plans to work with local communities and establish Community Benefit Funds on both shores.