Subsea fiber firm EllaLink to deploy a cable to Suriname.

EllaLink and Suriname telco Telesur this week announced they had signed a letter of intent (LOI) to see Suriname become the first country to formally join the EllaLink Caribbean Gateway, a new high-capacity submarine cable system serving the Caribbean region.

A branch of EllaLink’s flagship TransAtlantic system, the companies said the new cable will give Suriname a “new, fully diverse subsea route to the world’s major data hubs.”

Full details of the cable, including landing point, capacity, and timelines, weren’t shared.

“This Letter of Intent marks an important step in Telesur’s long-term infrastructure renewal strategy,” said Doric Ramlakhan, CEO of Telesur. “Suriname is proud to be the first country to commit to this pioneering project. The Caribbean Gateway will give our customers, our public institutions, and our businesses a future-proof, diversified international backbone for the next 25 years, with direct access to the world’s major digital hubs and reinforced resilience for the country as a whole.”

The original EllaLink cable was laid between late 2020 and 2021, running from Fortaleza in Brazil via Cabo Verde and Madeira to Sines in Portugal, with a branch to Morocco. The 5,900 km (3,666 mile) cable offers around 100Tbps across four fiber pairs. The system was recently extended to Mauritania, and a new extension to French Guiana is also in development.

State-owned Telesur was founded in 1945. It provides fixed and wireless communication services, offering mobile services through the TeleG brand.

“We are proud to welcome Telesur as the pioneer partner of the EllaLink Caribbean Gateway,” said Diego Matas, COO of EllaLink. “Suriname’s early commitment validates the demand for a new transatlantic backbone serving the Caribbean and the Guianas, a project whose strategic value has already been recognized by the European Commission with a seal of excellence. Together with our partners across the region, we are building the infrastructure of the next generation for the Caribbean.”

Two subsea cables currently land in Suriname. The Suriname-Guyana Submarine Cable System (SG-SCS), deployed in 2010 by Telesur and Guyana Telephone and Telegraph, links the country to neighboring Guyana as well as Trinidad and Tobago. Digicel’s Deep Blue One, deployed in 2024, links the country to Trinidad and Tobago, French Guiana, and Guyana.