Bermuda is set to become the key node in an Atlantic network of undersea cables that will make communications between continents more secure and more resilient, according to David Robles, global subsea construction lead, Google.

At the Bermuda Tech Summit 2023, the executive presented an ambitious vision with the island at the centre, all starting with the planned Nuvem cable and a robust, state-of-the-art facility to be built at the landing point on the island.

“Why Bermuda? Historically it has been a hub for trade, for travel, for defence. What we are trying to do with Bermuda is extend that to communications,” Mr Robles said.

“Take that unique geography and ability to serve as a hub and apply it to undersea fibre optics. We are not here to talk about multiple cables to Bermuda, we are here to talk about Nuvem for the moment. But as a longer-term vision, we can project forward and say, ‘Bermuda makes sense for many other things’. You can envision cables going from different parts of Europe and perhaps to northern Africa, perhaps to Latin America.

“That is really where we start to see Bermuda’s value as a hub. It provides a point where we can do switching between all those different cables and provide a kind of extremely secure network architecture.”

Nuvem, which is being built and financed by Google, will connect South Carolina and Portugal via Bermuda. Set for completion in 2026, it will be the first new cable landing at the island in more than 15 years.

In discussing Nuvem, Mr Robles explained the importance of mesh architecture and how Bermuda fits into an emerging Atlantic network.

“For network engineers, the mesh is kind of the Holy Grail of networking, where every point is connected to every other point through multiple paths, and this is what we are trying to achieve in the Atlantic. That is why Bermuda is so strategic. By putting multiple cables into Bermuda over the long term, it will allow us to achieve this kind of mesh architecture, which is extremely resilient.

“It also decreases the latency between any two points. All connections from Bermuda have to pass through the US.

“With this architecture, you will have direct connectivity.”

He went on to discuss the importance of Bermuda’s legal environment in the development of the Nuvem project, specifically the Submarine Communications Cables Act 2020.

“What I appreciate most about the law is the establishment of the Cable Protection Zone with two landing points, one at Annie’s Bay and one further south at Devonshire Bay. We don’t have to worry about other industries coming in and disrupting the future operation of the cable, and it simplified the route survey and installation, because we know where we are going. Compare this with other places where we can spend months searching for landing points.

“Here it was done in a matter of weeks. We knew exactly where we were going. That’s a great relief.”

Mr Robles also said that the law greatly simplified licensing, adding to the certainty of the project.

The landing site itself will be a significant piece of infrastructure and able to accommodate other cables from Google or a competitor. Google itself will not be acting as an internet service provider locally but will sell capacity wholesale to the existing providers, potentially leading to lower costs and better connectivity.

“It is a sizeable facility. We are scaling this for the future. It is going to be highly secure, so there will be some sort of fencing and security around it. It will be designed for maximum efficiency and rely on solar power to the extent possible.

“It will be a big warehouse-looking structure that will require a highly skilled, trained staff, probably in the neighbourhood of ten to 20 staff. These will be highly skilled jobs, focused on telecommunications and IT.”