Last week Google announced three new subsea cables systems – Alisios, Canoa, and OlaLuz under its Americas Connect initiative. The new systems are designed to expand digital connectivity, capacity, and network reliability between Latin America, the Caribbean, the United States, and Europe.
Alisios links Chile, Panama, & the Dominican Republic, Canoa connects the Dominican Republic with Bermuda and integrates with the Nuvem and Sol cables, providing onward routes to North America and Europe; OlaLuz establishes a direct connection between the Dominican Republic and Florida in the United States.
To further diversify its network, Google is also adding a new branch to the Firmina subsea cable, with a direct landing in the Dominican Republic. Originally developed to link North and South America, the extension will expand Firmina’s high-capacity connectivity and provide the Caribbean with additional network access.
Besides the announced Google cables, the TAM-1 system reached the country earlier this year, adding a cable of approximately 7,000 kilometers with capacity of up to 650 terabits per second (Tbps), connecting Panama with the United States, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Panama is also expected to connect to the Manta system, a new project that will link the country with the United States, Mexico, and Colombia.
Opportunities for International Companies
Panama’s expanding submarine cable network strengthens its position as a regional digital hub and creates opportunities to attract investment in data centers, tech infrastructure, cloud services, cybersecurity, fintech and other digital services. Increased international bandwidth and route redundancy make the country increasingly attractive as a base for companies serving Central America, the Caribbean and wider Latin American markets.
Seven submarine cable systems currently run through Panama. According to ProPanama, this infrastructure carries 100% of regional internet traffic, 97% of international telephone traffic, and 90% of regional data transmission, reinforcing Panama’s competitiveness as a location for data centers and technology companies.
Telecom Research firm TeleGeography estimates that current investment in submarine cable infrastructure will reach the highest levels recorded in recent decades, supported by rising demand for cloud services, artificial intelligence, data centers, and continued growth in global data traffic.
Read Google’s Blog “Expanding connectivity in the Americas: Introducing Alisios, Canoa, and OlaLuz subsea cables” (11 Aug 2026)
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