Submarine Telecommunications Cable System for El Salvador

Millions of kilometres of fibre optic submarine cables crisscross the planet, facilitating near-instant connectivity between continents, businesses, and individuals. El Salvador is the only country in Latin America that has coastal access yet lacks a submarine cable landing point. Consequently, it experiences the lowest total traffic in the region, relying solely on terrestrial routes for international traffic, which results in higher costs.

The Government of El Salvador aims to deploy its first submarine cable to enhance digital connectivity, fostering economic growth and facilitating access to digital tools for the population and the public sector. This would reduce international connectivity costs, increase bandwidth availability, and promote public-private partnerships to accelerate the country's digital transformation agenda.

The current project supports the European Union’s Global Gateway broader connectivity strategy, helping El Salvador address the digital divide and further integrate into the global digital ecosystem. It also aligns with the objectives of the EU-LAC Digital Alliance, particularly ensuring trusted secure, resilient, affordable, high-speed connectivity to reach the full potential of the digital economy. Moreover, it will be complemented by the EU’s BELLA programme to connect the research and education community to the Latin American and European networks.

The project is divided into two main components:

• Construction and deployment of infrastructure, including building a landing station, secure submarine cables and an interconnection system between ground stations and the submarine cables and purchasing high-end equipment for information reception and power generation.
• Institutional strengthening of SIGET, the General Superintendency of Electricity and Telecommunications of El Salvador. This encompasses training programs, consultancy services, and technological and software upgrades.