FEATURE
THE SUBSEA-TO-SERVER IMPERATIVE How Data Centre Infrastructure is Reshaping Global Submarine Connectivity BY RICHARD DOBBIE THE DIGITAL BACKBONE: WHERE OCEAN MEETS ONSHORE
In my role working for a global data centre infrastructure provider with operations spanning major submarine cable hubs, I’ve witnessed firsthand a fundamental shift in how the industry conceptualises connectivity infrastructure. The traditional model, where submarine cables land at coastal facilities and data traverses lengthy terrestrial backhaul networks to reach inland data centres, is rapidly giving way to a more integrated architecture. Today’s digital infrastructure demands that we think holistically about the subsea-to-server pathway. The numbers underlying this transformation are staggering. According to TeleGeography, a record 161,100 kilometres of submarine cables are planned to become ready for service in 2025, surpassing the previous high of 121,000 kilometres in 2001. This represents over $13 billion in new submarine cable investment between 2025 and 2027 alone. Simultaneously, global data centre capital expenditure
reached $430 billion in 2024, with projections estimating growth to $598 billion in 2025, or a 25.8% increase that could surpass $1.1 trillion by 2029. These parallel investment trajectories are not coincidental. They reflect a fundamental interdependence: submarine cables require proximate, high-capacity data centres to process and distribute the traffic they carry, while AI-driven data centres increasingly require direct access to international submarine connectivity to support distributed training workloads, disaster recovery requirements, and low-latency global services.
FINANCIAL DRIVERS: THE ECONOMICS OF CONVERGENCE
From a financial perspective, the convergence of submarine cable and data centre infrastructure creates several compelling value propositions that are reshaping capital allocation decisions across both sectors.
NOVEMBER 2025 | ISSUE 145
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