Announcing Humboldt, the first cable route between South America and Asia-Pacific

Today, we’re joining Desarrollo País of Chile and Office of Posts and Telecommunications of French Polynesia (OPT) to announce Humboldt, a subsea cable route linking Chile, French Polynesia, and Australia — the first ever to directly connect South America and Asia-Pacific. When operational, Humboldt will strengthen the reliability and resilience of digital connectivity across the Pacific by interconnecting the cables that comprise the South Pacific Connect initiative and adding geographically diverse cable investments that link French Polynesia and Chile.

A direct fiber optic network link between South America and the Asia-Pacific region has been an ambition of the Chilean government since 2016, and we’re partnering to turn this vision into reality.

"Chile is a country that is at the forefront of technology and is a leader in the implementation of the latest generation networks. As a Government, we are working day by day to consolidate this position and create the conditions for new investments of this kind to continue to arrive. The interest of companies like Google shows that Chile is doing things right. The country is leveraging its potential to generate the growth that will help us improve the well-being and quality of life of the people. These are projects that create employment and later, when they become a reality, improve the working conditions of thousands of people, in addition to placing Chile as a leader in the region and strengthening its position as the gateway from South America to the digital world." - Juan Carlos Muñoz, Transportation and Telecommunications Minister of Chile

“Australia welcomes this new trans-Pacific cable connecting Australia and Latin America for the first time, supporting the growth of digital and economic ties. This new cable route will enhance Australia’s global connectivity and complement our work with Pacific countries to secure better access to the global digital economy.” - Hon Michelle Rowland MP, Minister for Communications of Australia

"Economic vitality in my country relies on investments in the digital sector. We are thrilled to collaborate on the Humboldt project to continue advancing French Polynesia’s digital economy and keep Tahiti on the cutting edge of innovation." - President Moetai Brotherson of French Polynesia

The Humboldt project is a reflection of our longstanding commitment to Chile and is the latest in a series of existing digital infrastructure investments in the country and across Latin America. Accelerating Chile’s robust digital transformation strategy, Humboldt will join other infrastructure projects, including the Google data center in Quilicura in powering Google services, the Google Cloud region in Santiago supporting customers across Latin America, the cross-Andes terrestrial connectivity between Chile and Argentina, and the Curie subsea cable linking Chile, Panama, and the West Coast of the United States.

By improving international connectivity, subsea cables help drive economic growth in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) and job creation. Greater network capacity and lower latency enables businesses and public sector organizations to deliver better digital experiences to their customers and constituents, and people can gain skills and knowledge that open new career paths. Analysys Mason estimates that Google’s previous submarine cable deployments in Latin America and the Caribbean region (LAC) will lead to a cumulative increase in GDP of 178 billion USD between 2017 and 2027 and support the creation of around 740,000 additional jobs by 2027.

“This marks a significant milestone for the flagship project, the Humboldt submarine cable. After years of dedicated work, we are now entering the materialization phase. Google, our esteemed international partner, ensures that these works will adhere to the highest technical standards. Our goal is to position Chile as a global digital hub, seamlessly connecting countries in the region with the Asia-Pacific. This achievement underscores the instrumental role of Desarrollo País' public-private partnership model in fostering Chile's growth.” - Patricio Rey Sommer, General Manager of Desarrollo País

The Humboldt cable is named for Alexander von Humboldt, a German polymath, geographer, naturalist and explorer who traveled extensively to the Americas at the turn of the 19th century. The moniker was selected by Chilean residents, who voted via social media in a naming contest organized by Desarrollo País and Chile’s Undersecretary of Telecommunications (Subtel). Chileans already share a special connection to the Humboldt project, and we’re excited to work with partners to bring it to life.