A third pillar for the Bermuda economy could be the result of plans to land Google’s new subsea cable here, as it paves the way for the island to become a transatlantic digital hub.

This vision for Bermuda’s future prosperity is from the technology and telecommunications executive who has connected Bermuda’s ambitions with the forward planning of the technology multinational.

Fiona Beck, an adviser to Google and the former chief executive officer of the Bermudian-based submarine cable company, Southern Cross Cable, said the project will bring infrastructure investment, jobs, improved connectivity, training opportunities and recurring regulatory revenue to the island.

As a former director of the Bermuda Business Development Agency, Ms Beck was instrumental in crafting the island’s digital hub strategy, developing its legislative framework under the Submarine Communications Act 2020, and in establishing the relationship with Google.

Google’s Nuvem subsea cable will connect Portugal, Bermuda and the East Coast of the United States.

Ms Beck has stated that with 95 per cent of the world’s internet traffic transported via such cables, the subsea network is a critical part of the world’s digital infrastructure.

She was a guest speaker recently at the Association of Bermuda International Companies’ annual meeting.

She explored with Abic delegates how data is an increasingly valuable commodity and how the adoption of artificial intelligence is gathering momentum.

The Pacific has hubs like Hawaii, Guam and Fiji, but the Atlantic lacks a centralised digital switch. Bermuda’s submarine cable corridor positions the island to fill the void for any number of entities.

The Nuvem framework for participating companies provides preapproved landing zones at Devonshire Bay and Annie’s Bay, cutting red tape and guaranteeing processing time for adopters within 75 days.

Sea Grass Services Ltd, a subsidiary of Google, has paid $4.86 million to the Bermuda Land Development Corporation for a 262-year lease on a 5.9-acre side in Southside, St David’s, where it will build a 50,000-square-foot cable-landing station, capable of housing multiple cables.

Ms Beck said: “The wider BDA strategy is built around the idea that once a company like Google brings a cable here, others like Amazon, Facebook (Meta) and Microsoft are expected to follow.

“They are the content carriers and content managers, who are using the data and so they are the ones building submarine cables, today.”

Data travels much faster via fibre-optic cable than by satellite, crossing oceans in the blink of an eye.

Nuvem will create jobs in construction, marine work and station operations. More cables will bring more opportunities. But Ms Beck said the greatest impact would come from the consequent “multiplier effect”.

She said: “What are the businesses that will develop as a result of having Google here? I couldn’t tell you, because who knows what kind of vision we may create over the next ten years with AI and big data and other developments that may happen.”

She expects Google’s brand recognition to attract interest from young Bermudians, as the company considers educational and training opportunities on the island.

Google is also committed to sustainability principles, she added. The new landing station, once full, would consume about three megawatts of electricity, she estimated, and the company would be seeking opportunities to source some of its power needs from renewable sources.

Ms Beck said she was working on additional subsea cable strategies: “There’s two or three other ones in the pipeline that I’m working with the BDA to promote, because there is a real opportunity here to build this into another pillar of economic activity for Bermuda.”