On Tuesday morning, the official launch ceremony for Google's Nuvem transatlantic submarine cable system took place at Lisbon's Oceanarium. The project represents a new investment which, as Minister Delegate for State Reform Gonçalo Matias said in his speech at the event, aims to link "North America and Europe along a new digital corridor that crosses the Atlantic".
At a time when "around 95% of all the world's data travels through submarine cables", the minister explained, Portugal is stepping up to become one of the main players in a project that will be the first to connect the country directly to the United States. But what exactly is "Nuvem", what does it hope to achieve and what role will Portugal play in its development?
A new submarine cable system
The project was first announced by Google in 2023 (source in Portuguese), and was immediately described as "a new transatlantic submarine cable system to link Portugal, Bermuda and the United States".
According to the company, on the US side "Nuvem will make landfall in South Carolina", specifically Myrtle Beach. In Portugal, Sines will be the landing station, with intermediate points in Bermuda and the Azores.
