Amazon Web Services (AMZN) plans to build a trans-Atlantic subsea fiber optic cable system to help address the rising demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
The system will span from the coast of Maryland to County Cork, Ireland. The cloud service provider expects the system to be operational in 2028.
“This strategic placement strengthens the network in two ways: it provides backup routes if other cables encounter issues, and it creates a network design for growing demands in cloud computing, AI, and edge applications that use AWS services such as Amazon CloudFront and AWS Global Accelerator,” Amazon said.
Its design capacity will exceed 320 terabits per second, which is enough to stream 12.5M high-definition films at the same time.
“This scalable architecture is specifically designed to handle growing AI traffic loads, allowing customers to rapidly expand their data demands while the system adapts to accommodate future growth,” the company added.
AWS infrastructure stretches across 38 geographic regions and 120 availability zones. It is in the process of adding 10 more availability zones and three more AWS regions.