Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak about our new relationship with Google. Honourable Members will be aware of Google’s announcement of the Nuvem (the Portuguese word for Cloud) cable, a Trans-Atlantic cable connecting the US with Portugal with dual branches landing into Bermuda at Devonshire Bay and Annies Bay in St. Davids.
Mr. Speaker, it was exactly 4 years ago when I tabled the bill that subsequently became the ‘Submarine Communications Cables Act 2020’.
At a high level this legislation:
- Provides for the establishment of a submarine fiber optic cable corridor with landing points at Devonshire Bay and Annies Bay.
- Sets out the framework for the license and regulation of such cables.
- Provides submarine cable operators with certainty of the process with decisions within 60 – 75 days of submission of application.
- Introduces the concept of transit cables and local cables.
- Outlines the penalties and consequences of contraventions within the submarine cable corridor.
Mr. Speaker, Bermuda is currently served by five cables; three of which are aging, one has been upgraded, and one is in the process of being upgraded. These cables currently have significant spare capacity to serve Bermuda’s market. Four of the five cables land in the US and one in Latin America. The current submarine cable corridor was designed to provide the flexibility to land five additional cables into Bermuda. That cable corridor was designed to attract new cables to Bermuda as part of the strategy to build out Bermuda as a Digital Atlantic Hub using transit opportunities to leverage Bermuda’s strategic location in the Atlantic. This coupled with a favorable and certain legislative framework encouraged operators to “land and expand”.
Mr. Speaker, the Bermuda Business Development Agency has been promoting and liaising with those target companies focusing on the Atlantic Digital Hub and the other services Bermuda can offer to the submarine cable industry generally. The target submarine cable operators in today’s market for cable builds are the large data /network providers being Google, Facebook (Meta), Microsoft, Amazon etc.
Mr. Speaker, over the past few months, my office and the office of the Minister of Public Works, the Honourable David Burch, and the Bermuda Land Development Corporation (BLDC) have been in direct contact with the Google team leading up to this announcement. The importance of this trusted relationship was reinforced with the meeting in New York this month between myself and Google’s Global Head of Government Affairs – Mr Karan Bhatia. Strict confidentiality measures were put in place prior to the announcement to manage the flow of information. This was critical to Bermuda and formed part of that trusted relationship.
Mr. Speaker, it is intended that the cable will be built and laid over the coming two years with a ready-for-service date in 2026. Marine route surveys in Bermuda will begin later this year along with the required permitting and licensing application. Acquisition of land and the construction of the landing points and landing station will be required.
A significant cable landing station is planned to be built, which will enable multiple cable landings. The cable landing station will be an open station available for any other cable to land in Bermuda including future additional Google cables.
This is more than a cable landing just passing through Bermuda, it will provide a backbone for a wider strategy of a digital port with all the requirements for supporting data and digital infrastructure.
Mr. Speaker, the landing of this cable and subsequent ones will deliver on the Government’s commitment and strategy outlined in our Economic Strategy Document recently released. In particular, it will:
- Establish Bermuda as the mid-Atlantic hub and would provide reduced latency in communications with Europe and the Americas. This will also be a new route for Bermuda with direct connectivity to Europe.
- Act as a “magnet” drawing other players in the communication industry, whether laying their own cables or leasing from Google.
- Provide redundancy for cables currently serving Bermuda.
- Importantly, be a 25 – 40-year commitment for Bermuda from Google
Mr. Speaker, there are a number of other benefits to Bermuda with the landing of the Nuvem cable, including:
- The building of a large cable landing station requiring a footprint generating significant economic spin off benefits, including:
- A cash injection for the purchase of freehold land from the Government, subject to approval of the Legislature
- New investment in physical plant and infrastructure which will provide jobs for Bermudians and Bermuda companies in the construction and maintenance of the plant.
- Employment for around ten to twenty direct positions needed on an ongoing basis for the cable landing station. This will likely also generate the ripple effects of jobs in other areas with the technology hub that will be created.
- Creating the infrastructure which supports (1) a technology hub for FinTech and (2) increased satellite earth stations. Communication satellite earth stations are already either set up in Bermuda or showing increased interest in placing additional earth stations in Bermuda.
- Increasing investment in renewable energy. The cable landing station will require up to 3 Megawatts of electricity as additional cables are added.
- Providing access to Google’s significant resource and support, including:
- training opportunities for Bermudians by giving them access to Google’s training platform,
- Providing support and advice for other sustainability projects and marine related initiatives, including providing technology for monitoring and enforcement.
- supporting Bermuda’s education initiatives and community development opportunities.
Mr. Speaker, we welcome Google’s proposed investment in Bermuda and look forward to a long and productive relationship with them.
Mr. Speaker, finally, I would be remiss if I did not recognize the ongoing efforts of Ms. Fiona Beck, formerly of the Bermuda Business Development Agency and now a consultant with Google. Ms. Beck was invaluable in the development of the Submarine Communications Act 2020, and she has been instrumental in establishing Google’s relationship with Bermuda.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.