Cuba Begins Testing New Submarine Cable

Cuba's second-ever submarine cable, connecting Cuba to Martinique, was deployed by Orange and is currently undergoing testing. It began in April.
The Arimao cable, deployed by Orange and ETECSA, Cuba's state-owned telecommunications provider, was first announced in December. According to the Data Center Dynamics website, prior to the December announcement, United States regulators acted to block a separate application to connect Cuba to the United States through a new submarine cable landing station.
At that time, the United States Government, apparently out of concern for national security, called on the Federal Communications Commission to block the application to connect Cuba to the United States.
In fact, current United States sanctions and restrictions mean that Cuba does not have a direct submarine cable to the United States mainland. The ALBA-1 cable to Venezuela was deployed as early as 2011.
The deployment of the 2,500-kilometer Arimao cable began in January; it will connect to a cable landing station in Cienfuegos when it is launched later this year.
Not surprisingly, Arimao will provide a significant (though undisclosed) boost to Cuba's connectivity that is urgently needed. While Internet demand is growing, especially since the legalization of private Wi-Fi for homes and businesses in 2019, the lack of capacity means frequent outages and low Internet speeds for Cuban Internet users, estimated at just over 7 million. population of 11.3 million.
Martinique is already the landing point for many submarine cables, including ECFS, Southern Caribbean Fiber, Americas-II and Kanawa.