Google plans a second major subsea cable landing in Bermuda, aimed at deepening the island’s role in global internet infrastructure and earning praise from government officials who said the move proved Bermuda’s growing reputation as a digital gateway.

The new cable, called Sol, will stretch across the Atlantic from Florida to Spain, with stops in Bermuda and the Azores.

It is being built to boost connectivity between Google Cloud regions and meet rising demand for cloud and artificial intelligence services across North America and Europe. Once completed, it will be the only in-service fibre-optic cable between Florida and Europe.

Alexa Lightbourne, the Minister of Home Affairs, welcomed the news.

“This second cable highlights the benefits of this Government’s strategy to develop Bermuda as a progressive world-leading jurisdiction for technology companies,” she said.

The Sol cable follows the path of Nuvem, Google’s first Bermuda-connected transatlantic cable, which was announced last year. But Sol, which means “sun” in Spanish and Portuguese, adds a second layer of resilience by connecting Bermuda and the Azores.

The system will land in Palm Coast, Florida, with support from digital infrastructure provider DC Blox, whose chief revenue officer, Chris Gatch, said: “DC Blox is proud and honoured to expand the foundational digital infrastructure that is vital to Florida’s growing economy.”

In Spain, Google will partner with Telxius to land the cable in Santander.

Mario Martín, the chief executive of Telxius, said the move would “boost transatlantic connectivity with enhanced capacity, reliability and resilience”.

Officials in other Sol landing points also reacted enthusiastically. Artur Lima, the vice-president of the Azores, called it a “visionary, pioneering and strategic” project.

In Portugal, Miguel Pinto Luz, the minister of infrastructure, said it would “respond to the growing demand for digital infrastructure in Portugal and Europe”.

A terrestrial route will link Palm Coast with Google’s cloud region in South Carolina.

Bermuda stands to benefit from increased investment, regulatory revenue, and its rising profile as a neutral, strategically located node.

Sol is expected to begin operations in 2026.

Google initially aimed to begin construction on a 50,000-square-foot cable landing station in St David’s by mid-2024, with the system expected to be up and running by 2026.

The company’s decision to invest in Bermuda was helped by the Submarine Communications Cables Act, passed in 2020. The legislation established a clear application process, timeline and fee structure for developers.