Transatlantic cable could make land in Mayo this autumn

A TRANSATLANTIC fibre optic cable could make land at Old Head in Mayo this September or October.

The America Europe Connect 2 subsea fibre optic cable is currently at the foreshore licensing application stage.

Public consultation on the proposal is still open for submissions, local councillors, who were supportive of the project, were told at a Westport - Belmullet Municipal District meeting today.

It is hoped to land the system in September or October. And Andy Hudson of Aqua Comms explained that once operational, the line will provide high speed and significantly increased capacity between the US, Ireland and Europe.

The cable, when landed at Old Head, will connect into an existing Aurora network, which connects to Dublin. There will be no trench digging as part of the project.

Many existing cables globally are being retired, he said, and the new cables have more capacity,

He stressed the importance of keeping Ireland connected.

A community fund is part of the project, and there has been discussions with the community on Clare Island, for example, about projects there.

The America Europe Connect 2 cable is a branch of a larger transatlantic subsea cable system linking Europe with the USA. The proposed route into Clew Bay is south of Achill Island and north of Clare Island, terminating at Old Head beach.