Google Advances Dominican Republic Submarine Cable Project

The initiative, announced in February and expanded in August, will land in Cabeza de Toro, El Salado, within the Verón-Punta Cana municipal district. The Dominican Institute of Telecommunications (Indotel) had previously approved the location. According to Minister of the Presidency José Ignacio Paliza, the new infrastructure will gradually replace older international cable systems and significantly boost the country’s data capacity.

Google’s investment in the Dominican Republic is estimated between $500 million and $800 million. The first phase was officially reported at over $500 million. The expanded connectivity is expected to attract data centers and artificial intelligence projects, while improving connection speed and reliability.

The cables—Alisios, Canoa, OlaLuz, and a branch of Firmina—will connect the Dominican Republic with Panama, Chile, Bermuda, and Florida. Currently, the country has six international submarine cables, but only one provides a direct link to the continental United States. With this new infrastructure, the number of direct U.S. connections will increase from one to three, and fiber pairs on that route will multiply tenfold.

Google plans to make another announcement related to the project on September 24, according to Vice Minister of Special Projects Roger Pujols. The deployment timeline was not previously disclosed by Google, although the company presented its Americas Connect network in August.

The enhanced connectivity could position the Dominican Republic as a regional digital hub, potentially benefiting sectors like tourism and hospitality. For more on infrastructure developments, read about the new highway boosting Puerto Plata tourism and the proposed Punta Cana rail link.