Under the Mediterranean, invisible to our eyes, run the true highways of the 21st century.
They don't carry goods or people. They carry data—99% of intercontinental internet traffic passes through submarine cables. And Italy, thanks to its geographical position, is becoming the central node of this invisible network.
Geography as destiny
Look at a map of the Mediterranean. Italy stretches into the center, connecting Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. For centuries, this position made the fortune of maritime republics. Today it makes the country's digital fortune.
Submarine cables connecting Asia and Africa to Europe must pass through somewhere. And that "somewhere" is increasingly Italy—particularly Sicily and, increasingly, Puglia.
This is not coincidence. It's geometry.
Unitirreno: 624 Terabits under the sea
In October 2025, Unitirreno became operational—the most advanced submarine cable system in the Mediterranean.
The numbers are impressive:
- 1,156 kilometers of cable
- 624 Tbps capacity (terabits per second)
- 24 pairs of repeated optical fibers—the world's first system with this configuration
- Latency under 9 milliseconds from Sicily to Northern Europe via Genoa
The system connects Mazara del Vallo (Sicily), Rome Fiumicino, Olbia (Sardinia), and Genoa, creating a digital backbone that crosses Italy from south to north.
But Unitirreno isn't just a cable. It's a "carrier neutral" infrastructure—open to all operators, not exclusive property of a single player. This means competition, lower prices, and greater accessibility.
BlueMed and others: the Mediterranean fills up
Unitirreno isn't alone. Sparkle (TIM group) recently completed BlueMed's landing in Cyprus, extending connectivity eastward. Other projects are underway to connect North Africa and the Middle East.
Why this rush? Two main reasons.
First: bandwidth demand is exploding. Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, 4K/8K streaming require capacity that was unimaginable just a few years ago. Existing cables are no longer enough.
Second: route diversification. Relying on a single path (historically, the Suez Canal) is a geopolitical risk. Having Mediterranean alternatives—and potentially Arctic ones—becomes strategic.
Genoa vs Marseille: the new competition
For decades, Marseille has been the main landing point for Mediterranean cables in Europe. The French city has built a data center ecosystem around this advantage, becoming a first-rate digital hub.
But geography is changing the game.
Genoa offers a more direct route to Central and Eastern European markets. With Unitirreno operational, data can reach Milan—and from there all of Europe—with lower latency than routing via France.
It's a silent but intense competition. And Italy, for once, starts with an advantage.
What about Puglia? The piece that completes the puzzle
Here the discussion becomes particularly interesting for our territory.
Puglia has two strategic advantages:
1. Position: it's the easternmost point of the Italian peninsula, a natural landing for cables coming from Greece, Turkey, and the Middle East.
2. Energy: the region is a national leader in renewable energy production, especially wind and solar. Data centers are hungry for energy—and Puglia can offer it sustainably.
It's no surprise that the Puglia Data Center Valley is emerging right here. The convergence of connectivity and clean energy creates ideal conditions for large-scale digital infrastructure.
What this means for local businesses
A submarine cable, by itself, doesn't change a company's life. But the ecosystem that develops around these infrastructures does.
Reduced latency: for real-time applications (fintech, gaming, telemedicine, industry 4.0), every millisecond counts. Being close to a primary connectivity node is a competitive advantage.
Falling bandwidth costs: more capacity means more competition among operators, which translates into lower prices for enterprise connectivity.
Investment attraction: big tech players build data centers where there's connectivity. And where there are data centers, qualified jobs, supply chains, and innovation emerge.
Resilience: having redundant infrastructure in the territory means greater operational continuity. If a cable fails (it happens more often than you think—anchors, earthquakes, wear), there are others ready.
The role of proximity data centers
Submarine cables are the highways. But data centers are the toll booths, gas stations, service centers.
Not all data needs to travel to Milan or Frankfurt. For many applications—edge computing, IoT, content delivery—it makes sense to process data as close to the source as possible.
This is where regional data centers like those planned in the Puglia Data Center Valley come in. They don't compete with Milan's hyperscalers. They complement them, offering:
- Low latency for local applications
- Data sovereignty (important for public administration and regulated sectors)
- Local support and direct relationships
- Integration with the territorial economic ecosystem
Challenges to face
Not everything is rosy. For Italy—and Puglia in particular—to capitalize on this opportunity, we need:
Skills: data centers require specialized technicians, engineers, security experts. Training them requires time and investment in the education system.
Bureaucracy: building infrastructure in Italy is notoriously complex. Permits, authorizations, environmental assessments—everything must accelerate without sacrificing quality.
Power grid: the availability of renewable energy is useless if the grid can't transport it where needed. Smart grid investments are essential.
Systemic vision: cables, data centers, energy, skills must grow together. We need coordinated policies, not isolated initiatives.
The future is already here
I'll conclude with a reflection.
Twenty years ago, if you had said that Puglia would become strategic for European digital infrastructure, they would have laughed at you. Today it's a reality under construction.
Submarine cables aren't futuristic technology. They're concrete and steel—or rather, glass and silicon—that are redesigning the Mediterranean's economic geography.
Italy has all the cards to play this game as a protagonist. Puglia has even better cards.
The question isn't whether these infrastructures will arrive. They're already arriving. The question is: will we be ready to leverage them?
Want to understand how new connectivity infrastructure can benefit your business? Contact us for a consultation. ```