Transpacific Cables Can't Keep Up With AI

Surging AI traffic is forcing operators to deploy next-gen subsea capacity, with Colt securing a key transpacific route via NTT's Juno cable

10 Jun 2026

The ocean floor is becoming a battleground. Surging demand for AI-driven data transfer has pushed transpacific cable routes to their limits, forcing operators to move faster and further than any previous wave of internet growth required.

Analysts now estimate that submarine cables planned to enter service between 2026 and 2029 carry a combined value exceeding $16 billion. Capacity has replaced connectivity as the defining challenge of the decade.

Colt Technology Services made its move in late March, announcing new international routes connecting the US West Coast to Asia via the Juno cable system. Operated by a consortium led by NTT, the 11,700-kilometer link runs from Los Angeles to Tokyo and is engineered to deliver up to 350 terabits per second across 20 fiber pairs using Space Division Multiplexing. Terrestrial extensions on both ends will provide end-to-end connectivity for financial services firms, hyperscalers, and neocloud operators already contending with congestion on existing routes.

Weeks earlier, Colt had secured capacity on the transatlantic Marea cable, which runs from Virginia Beach to Bilbao, Spain, paired with new fiber builds connecting key Atlantic landing stations. Latency spikes are no longer edge cases for mission-critical operations. Colt's chief operating officer has said that a point will come when existing capacity across some routes simply runs out.

Beyond raw bandwidth, operations are changing too. AI-based fault detection combined with autonomous ROVs now allows operators to pinpoint damage and initiate repairs with minimal human input. Predictive platforms pulling together GIS data, sensor feedback, and real-time analytics monitor cable health before problems become crises. Smarter management and higher-capacity routes are converging at exactly the moment AI workloads demand both.