AtlasSantiago de Chile, CLEtienne Fey, Lars Brunner, and Maurice Stucki

The configuration and planned routes of major submarine fiber-optic cables connected to Chile are highlighting the country’s growing role as a digital gateway between the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region.

PROJECT A

Chile’s involvement in trans-Pacific digital infrastructure began with Project A, an early proposal supported by the Chinese to connect Valparaíso directly to Shanghai. Although the route would have created South America’s first direct data link to Asia, the project was ultimately cancelled.

MISTRAL CABLE

Regional connectivity was strengthened with the Mistral cable, planned in 2017 and operational since 2021. The 7,300 km system connects Valparaíso with Arica, Peru, Ecuador, and Guatemala, forming a high-capacity backbone along the Pacific coast with a potential capacity of 132 Tbps.

CURIE CABLE

A major milestone followed with Google’s Curie cable, completed in late 2019. Fully financed by Google, the 10,500 km system connects Valparaíso with Los Angeles, with a branching unit in Panama City, and provides a capacity of 72 Tbps.

HUMBOLDT CABLE

The most ambitious project currently under development is the Humboldt cable, a joint venture between Google and the Chilean state. The 14,800 km system will connect Valparaíso with Sydney via French Polynesia, delivering a projected capacity of 144 Tbps. Construction began in 2025, with commercial operation expected by 2027.

PROJECT B

In parallel, China proposed an alternative route in 2025, the Chile–China Express (CChE), a 19,873 km cable designed to link Valparaíso directly with Hong Kong. However, the project was placed on hold in 2026 following diplomatic tensions.

STRATEGIC POSITION OF CHILE IN GLOBAL DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Due to Chile’s geographic position on the Pacific coast and its political stability within South America, the country has attracted significant interest from global actors seeking to influence trans-Pacific digital connectivity.

GEOPOLITICAL COMPETITION AND DOMESTIC POLITICAL SHIFTS

Both the United States and China aim to establish strategic digital routes linking South America to Asia and North America. Control over submarine cable infrastructure not only determines technical connectivity but also shapes geopolitical influence over data flows, technological standards, and regional economic development. At the same time, Chile’s domestic politics have oscillated between left- and right-leaning administrations, repeatedly influencing the direction and partners of major infrastructure projects.

PROJECT A CABLE AND THE SHANGHAI ROUTE

Between 2016 and 2017, under the left-leaning administration of President Michelle Bachelet, Chile began positioning itself as a digital gateway between South America and Asia. The government initiated a pre-feasibility study for Project A, also known as the Shanghai Route, a submarine cable intended to connect Valparaíso directly with Shanghai. Supported by the Chinese company Huawei Marine, the project indicated a potential technological alignment with China’s expanding digital infrastructure network.

THE MISTRAL CABLE

At the same time, regional connectivity along the Pacific coast was strengthened through the Mistral cable, part of the South Pacific Cable System. Proposed in 2017 and operational since 2021, the system connects Valparaíso with Arica, Peru, Ecuador, and Guatemala, creating a high-capacity backbone for the Pacific coast of South and Central America.

THE CURIE CABLE

Chile’s strategy shifted after Sebastián Piñera assumed the presidency in 2018, emphasizing private-sector-led infrastructure development. This became visible with the completion of Google’s Curie cable in late 2019, the first private intercontinental submarine cable to land in Chile in nearly two decades.

US DIPLOMATIC PRESSURE AND THE CANCELLATION OF PROJECT A

The same year marked a geopolitical turning point. During a visit to Santiago in April 2019, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Chilean authorities about security risks associated with Chinese participation in critical infrastructure. Shortly afterwards, the government cancelled Project A and abandoned the planned Shanghai route.

THE HUMBOLDT CABLE

In response, Chile announced a new project in 2020: the Humboldt Cable. Instead of linking Chile with China, the route was redirected toward Sydney, Australia, repositioning Chile’s digital infrastructure within a Western technological framework and aligning it more closely with the strategic interests of the United States and its allies.

THE PLATFORM-STATE STRATEGIE—PDATA PLAN

Under the left-leaning administration of Gabriel Boric, Chile entered a new phase of digital infrastructure development in 2024 by institutionalizing a “Platform-State” model aimed at accelerating data center construction and international connectivity. This strategy was formalized with the National Data Center Plan (PDATA) 2024–2030, which aims to triple the size of the national data center industry and attract 2.5 billion USD in investment.

In parallel, the plan introduced financial incentives to attract international investment. Law 20.848 allows VAT exemptions for imported capital goods used in infrastructure and telecommunications projects, while the development agency CORFO offers co-funding of up to 80 % (maximum 7 million USD) for AI research and development. These incentives are reinforced by Chile’s relatively low renewable electricity prices, around 50 USD per MWh, compared to over 100 USD per MWh in the United States, and a 500-million-dollar electricity tariff stabilization fund that ensures predictable operating costs for energy-intensive facilities such as hyperscale data centers.

HUMBOLDT JOINT VENTURE

While Chile was restructuring its regulatory framework, geopolitical competition intensified. In June 2025, the Chilean government and Google signed a 50/50 joint venture agreement for the Humboldt Cable through the state-owned infrastructure company Desarrollo País. The system will connect Valparaíso to Sydney via French Polynesia, creating a high-capacity digital link between South America and the Asia-Pacific region.

CHINA’S RETURN—PROJECT B CABLE

At the same time, China attempted to re-enter Chile’s connectivity landscape. In 2025, China Mobile and Inchcape Shipping Services proposed the Chile–China Express (CChE), a submarine cable intended to link Valparaíso directly with Hong Kong.

VISA CRISIS AND DIPLOMATIC ESCALATION

This renewed competition escalated into a diplomatic conflict in February 2026, when the United States revoked the visas of three senior Chilean officials, including Transport Minister Juan Carlos Muñoz, after Chile signaled that it was evaluating the Chinese proposal. The US government characterized the project as a threat to regional security, leading Chile to place the project on hold. Following Chile’s national elections later that year, the incoming administration of José Antonio Kast is expected to align more closely with Western digital infrastructure frameworks.

Between the Pacific Ocean to the West and the Andes Mountains to the East lies the long and narrow territory of Chile, with its capital, Santiago de Chile, located inland. The submarine cables make landfall in Valparaíso. While there is no precise information available regarding the exact routing of the fibre-optic cables from Valparaíso to Santiago de Chile, it is reasonable to assume that they follow existing infrastructure corridors. In this context, the most plausible routes would be along the Route 68 highway, which directly connects Valparaíso with Santiago, or alternatively along Route 78 from Cartagena.

The metropolitan area has approximately seven million inhabitants. In relation to data centre locations, a noticeable cluster can be identified in the northern part of the city, particularly within the municipality of Quilicura. One likely reason for this concentration is that one of the earliest large-scale facilities in the area was developed by Google, which created an anchoring effect and encouraged further investment by other technology companies. In addition, Quilicura hosts a significant amount of industrial activity, making it a suitable environment for infrastructure of this type.

The area also benefits from strong logistical advantages. Its proximity to major highways provides rapid access to Santiago’s international airport. Furthermore, land prices are likely lower than in more central urban areas, making large-scale developments such as data centres more economically feasible. The availability of nearby high-voltage transmission lines is another key factor supporting this concentration. Beyond the main cluster, several smaller data centres can also be observed distributed across different parts of the metropolitan area.

When zooming into the cluster, it becomes evident that the majority of data centres are operated by US-based companies. The region is crossed only by a few small streams, with a wetland area located to the west of the cluster. Satellite imagery further reveals differences in the cooling strategies used by the facilities. The Google data centre appears to operate with an open water cooling system. In contrast, the Sonda data centre seems to rely on air cooling, which can be inferred from the technical installations visible on its roof. This facility is situated within a business park that includes a golf course, which is likely artificially irrigated.

In 2015, Google built its first data centre in Chile. Many others followed after that. Currently, the biggest problem lies in the cooling of data centres, because it requires large amounts of water. In Chile, tech giants are allowed to extract up to 50 litres of groundwater per second. It is suspected that in some cases even more water is being withdrawn. In addition, tech corporations are not required to provide binding proof of their climate impact.

Chile has already been experiencing a prolonged drought. Nevertheless, the data centres were built in an area where many farmers live. Groundwater levels continue to decline. As a result, traditional occupations and crafts, such as basket weaving, are disappearing. Data centres create only a limited number of new jobs and produce large amounts of electronic waste.

In 2020, Google planned a new facility that would have required up to 169 litres of groundwater per second. This led to unrest among the Chilean population. A collective called “Mosacat” launched a counter-movement and, after five years of struggle, succeeded in forcing Google to temporarily halt the planned facility. New cooling systems for the data centres must now be presented. Google stated that it intends to use air cooling in the future, but no further details have been disclosed so far.

Mosacat activist Tanja Rodriguez was elected to parliament. As a result, the movement now has significantly greater influence at the national level. The activists are not fundamentally opposed to AI, but they are calling for fair cooperation with both the environment and the local population.