Cuba Orange Subsea Cable to Martinique Project

Cuba has signed a new agreement with France’s Orange to build a Cuba Orange subsea cable to Martinique. This underwater system will create an additional international route and support Cuba’s goal to diversify and strengthen its internet connectivity.

You can learn more about the operators at Orange and ETECSA.

The announcement came roughly one week after the Biden administration recommended that U.S. regulators reject a separate plan from submarine cable operator ARCOS‑1. That proposal would have added a new undersea cable landing station and created the first direct commercial link between Cuba and the United States.

U.S. Concerns Over ETECSA and ARCOS‑1

U.S. officials advised against the ARCOS‑1 connection because Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba S.A. (ETECSA), Cuba’s state‑owned telecom monopoly, would own and control the Cuban landing point. Regulators raised concerns about security, data control, and governance when a single state‑run operator manages a direct U.S.–Cuba cable.

As a result, the U.S. recommendation blocks that specific route for now, even as Cuba moves forward with the Cuba Orange subsea cable to Martinique to improve regional and international reach.

Technical Progress on the Cuba Orange Subsea Cable to Martinique

Officials have not yet released details on the cost or capacity of the new system. However, ETECSA President Tania Velázquez confirmed that work has already started.

“Today the official act took place to begin the technical work of installing the new submarine cable, the joint work of ETECSA and Orange, which will allow us to diversify internet connection routes in Cuba,” she said on social media. The project aims to increase resilience and reduce dependence on a single international cable.

ALBA‑1: Cuba’s Existing Undersea Connection

At present, Cuba relies on the ALBA‑1 undersea cable as its only submarine telecom link. That system connects Cuba to Venezuela and forms part of an 8,400‑km fiber‑optic network across the Caribbean and Latin America.

ALBA‑1 ties together landing points that serve the United States, the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Curaçao, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico. The new Cuba Orange subsea cable to Martinique will provide another path for traffic and help improve redundancy.

ETECSA’s Role in Cuba’s Telecom Landscape

Public information describes ETECSA as the sole lawful provider of telephony and communications services in Cuba. In practice, the company functions as a nationwide communications monopoly and serves around eight million customers, including national users and foreign clients.

Because ETECSA controls fixed, mobile, and internet services, it also oversees Cuba’s international gateways and undersea cable links. Its role makes ETECSA a central partner for projects such as the Cuba Orange subsea cable to Martinique, as well as a focal point for regulatory scrutiny from other countries.

Author: WJI staff and wire services