SubCom

What SubCom does

SubCom, LLC is a privately held US-based supplier of subsea fiber optic cable systems headquartered in Newington, New Hampshire. The company designs, manufactures, and deploys complete subsea data networks, including the wet plant, shore-end cabling, terminal stations, and end-to-end system testing, using an owned fleet of eight purpose-built cable ships and fifteen submersible tools integrated with a 50-acre manufacturing campus featuring a deep-water pier. Since entering the communications industry in 1955, SubCom has deployed 200+ systems totaling enough cable to circle the Earth more than 25 times, with 9,100+ optical repeaters installed and a claimed 100% on-time delivery record across its portfolio.

SubCom's customer base spans tier-1 telecom operators (Reliance Jio, Telecom Egypt, Orange, Farice, Space Norway), hyperscalers (Google across Nuvem, Firmina, Grace Hopper, and Dunant; Meta and Amazon in consortium projects), and consortium/government buyers. Revenue is generated primarily through multi-year, project-based turnkey contracts awarded via competitive bidding, supplemented by marine installation services and recurring maintenance under agreements such as the South Pacific Marine Maintenance Agreement covering 19 systems. Proprietary technology, including 18kV power feeding, Spatial Division Multiplexed (SDM) optical systems, C+L band transmission (70.4 Tb/s over 7,600 km record), the Ocean Control Suite, and the Enhanced Line Monitoring System (eLMS), supports technical differentiation.

SubCom is owned by Cerberus Capital Management, which acquired the business (then TE SubCom) from TE Connectivity in 2018. In April 2026, Cerberus closed a $2.3 billion single-asset continuation vehicle led by CVC Secondary Partners to fund capacity expansion tied to AI- and cloud-driven demand for subsea connectivity. The company maintains a Forward Deployment Center in Subic Bay, Philippines, and is expanding its Newington manufacturing footprint with new jobs announced in January 2026.

Name

SubCom

Legal name

SubCom, LLC

Website

https://subcom.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1955

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

SubCom, LLC designs, manufactures, and deploys subsea fiber optic cable systems for global telecom operators, hyperscalers (Google, Meta, Amazon), and governments. It operates a US-based 50-acre manufacturing campus in Newington, NH, a fleet of eight cable ships, and has deployed 200+ systems since 1955.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Subsea Cable Infrastructure

NAICS

Fiber Optic Cable Manufacturing (335921), Other Communications Equipment Manufacturing (33429), Ship Building and Repairing (336611), Support Activities for Water Transportation (4883)

SIC

Communications Equipment, Nec (3669), Computer Communications Equipment (3576), Deep Sea Foreign Transportation Of Freight (4412)

akta.pro primary industry

Subsea Cable System Supply & Manufacturing (Wet Plant: Cable/Repeaters/Branching Units) (HDAIALAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Subsea Cable Construction, Marine Installation & Repair Services (HDAIALAC), Subsea Cable Landing Stations & Cable Terminal Stations (CLS/CTS) (HDAIALAB), Subsea Cable Maintenance Zones & Fleet Operators (Fault Response) (HDAIALAD)

Keywords

• Subsea cable systems
• Undersea fiber optic cables
• Marine cable installation
• Subsea network deployment
• Submarine cable manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Eatontown

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Subsea Cable System Sales: Design, manufacture, and deployment of complete subsea fiber optic cable systems for customers across multiple industries including telecom, cloud, scientific, and oil and gas applications.
2. Marine Installation Services: SubCom controls the installation process start to finish using their fleet of eight purpose-built cable ships and fifteen submersible tools, providing wet plant, shore end, terminal station, and system testing services.
3. System Testing and Commissioning: End-to-end system testing services for subsea cable installations, ensuring network performance and reliability.
4. Marine Maintenance Services: SubCom maintains over 19 cable systems operated by 14 owners across the South Pacific Ocean under the South Pacific Marine Maintenance Agreement (SPMMA).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SubCom designs, manufactures, and deploys modern subsea fiber optic data communication cable systems on a turnkey basis. The offering spans network design, cable and repeater manufacturing at a 50-acre Newington, NH campus with deep-water pier, and marine installation using a fleet of eight purpose-built cable ships and fifteen submersible tools. Customers can contract for complete cable systems (e.g., SEA-ME-WE 6, Firmina, IRIS, Grace Hopper, Arctic Way, MANTA) along with associated wet-plant, shore-end, terminal station, and system testing services.

Product overview

SubCom is a subsea fiber optic cable infrastructure company that provides an integrated platform of design, manufacturing, and deployment services for subsea data networks. The company operates as a single unified offering with distinct project-based systems (SEA-ME-WE 6, IEX/IAX, Firmina, IRIS, Grace Hopper, Oman Australia Cable, Nuvem, SPSC, Arctic Way, MANTA) delivered through its comprehensive capabilities including a 50-acre manufacturing campus in Newington, NH with deep-water pier, an industry-leading fleet of eight cable ships and fifteen submersible tools, and marine engineering expertise. The company has deployed enough cable to circle the equator over 25 times since 1955.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Subsea Cable Systems (Design, Manufacture, Deployment) End-to-end turnkey subsea fiber optic cable systems spanning flexible, future-proofed network design, comprehensive manufacturing at SubCom's 50-acre Newington, NH campus with deep-water pier, and controlled installation covering wet plant, shore end, terminal station, and system testing. Serves telecom operators, hyperscale cloud providers, governments, scientific institutions, and oil and gas customers globally.
• SEA-ME-WE 6 Cable System A 19,200 km subsea cable system connecting South East Asia, the Middle East, and Western Europe at 12 locations from Singapore to France. Built for the SEA-ME-WE 6 consortium.
• IEX/IAX Cable Systems The India-Asia-Xpress (IAX) system connects India eastbound to Singapore and beyond, while the India-Europe-Xpress (IEX) system connects India westbound to the Middle East and Europe. Built for Reliance Jio.
• Firmina Cable System Subsea cable system utilizing SubCom's 18kV technology, enabling the longest cable in the world capable of running entirely from a single power source, connecting the U.S. East Coast to Argentina. Built for Google.
• IRIS Cable System A new high-speed undersea cable system connecting Iceland and Ireland, offering increased security, redundancy, and wholesale capacity. Built for Farice.
• Grace Hopper Cable System A subsea cable system connecting the U.S. and U.K., being one of the first new cables to connect these countries since 2003. Built for Google.
• Oman Australia Cable (OAC) An international subsea cable system directly connecting Muscat, Oman to Perth, Australia.
• South Pacific Subsea Cable (SPSC) A six fiber pair system able to carry 22 Tbps per fiber pair for a total system capacity of 132 Tbps, running along the Latin American Pacific coast.
• Arctic Way Cable System The world's northernmost subsea cable system connecting the Norwegian mainland to Jan Mayen and Svalbard. Built for Space Norway.
• MANTA Subsea Cable System International subsea cable in the Gulf connecting Mexico and the USA with Central and Latin America, providing new low-latency routes to key regional data hubs. Built for the Liberty Networks / Gold Data / Sparkle consortium.
• Nuvem Cable System Google's transatlantic subsea cable system connecting the US and Portugal, with landings in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the Azores, and Bermuda. Features 16 fiber pairs with 384 Tb/s total capacity.
• Marine Installation Services End-to-end marine installation and maintenance services using SubCom's fleet of eight purpose-built cable ships and fifteen submersible tools, covering wet plant, shore end, terminal station, system testing, and ongoing marine maintenance under multi-year agreements such as the South Pacific Marine Maintenance Agreement.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% on-time delivery record across 200+ systems deployed
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and supporting.

• Firmus TechnologiesmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 June 2026Firmus Technologies partnered with SubCo (an Australian affiliate) to build Bernacchi-1, a subsea cable connecting mainland Australia to Tasmania. Firmus is underwriting the branch and providing capital for the project.
• Telecom EgyptcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 July 2025Telecom Egypt and SubCom completed IEX cable landings in Egypt and SEA-ME-WE-6 landings and crossing activities, demonstrating ongoing partnership on multiple subsea cable projects traversing Egypt.
• Space NorwaycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2025Space Norway awarded SubCom a full system supply contract for the Arctic Way cable system, which will be the world's northernmost subsea cable connecting the Norwegian mainland to Jan Mayen and Svalbard.
• Liberty Networks, Gold Data, SparklecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 March 2025Joint venture to build the MANTA subsea cable system connecting the USA, Mexico, Central America, and Latin America. SubCom is contracted to supply the fiber optic cable and optical components for the 5,400km submarine cable.
• GooglecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 September 2023SubCom serves as the supply partner for Google's Nuvem subsea cable connecting the US and Portugal, as well as other Google cable systems including Firmina, Grace Hopper, and Dunant.
• Agila SubicsupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 17 August 2023Agila Subic welcomed SubCom to open a new Forward Deployment Center at the Multi-Use Shipyard in Subic Bay, Philippines to support marine operations in the Asia-Pacific region.
• GooglecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 June 2021SubCom announced contract-in-force for Firmina, Google's new undersea cable connecting the U.S. East Coast to Argentina. SubCom's 18kV technology enables the longest cable in the world capable of running entirely from a single power source.
• FaricecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 April 2021Farice and SubCom announced contract-in-force for the IRIS cable system, a new high-speed undersea cable connecting Iceland and Ireland, providing increased security and redundancy for the region.
• GooglecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 July 2018Google selected SubCom to design and deploy the Dunant cable system, the first submarine cable to use SDM technology, connecting the U.S. East Coast to France.
• HAVFRUE ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 January 2018Consortium including Facebook and Google selected SubCom as supplier for the HAVFRUE cable system, the first new undersea cable to traverse the Northern Atlantic connecting mainland Northern Europe to the USA in nearly twenty years.
• Jupiter ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 October 2017Consortium including PLDT, NTT Communications, PCCW Global, SoftBank, Facebook, and Amazon selected SubCom to install the Jupiter cable system, a high-capacity transpacific system.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN): ASN, part of Nokia, is SubCom's primary direct competitor, designing, manufacturing, and laying subsea fiber optic cable systems for global telecom operators and hyperscalers. ASN and SubCom regularly compete head-to-head on flagship transoceanic cable tenders and together represent the bulk of the Western end-to-end subsea cable market.
• HMN Technologies: HMN Technologies (formerly Huawei Marine Networks) is the China-backed end-to-end subsea cable competitor, offering system integration, marine installation, and wet plant manufacturing. HMN competes with SubCom particularly on Asia-Africa and intra-Asia routes, and is increasingly relevant given US-China supply chain decoupling dynamics.
• NEC Submarine Networks: NEC is one of the three global end-to-end subsea cable suppliers, with comparable manufacturing, system design, and marine installation capabilities. NEC has won several transpacific projects and competes with SubCom on consortium-led hyperscaler builds across Asia-Pacific routes.

Broad incumbents

• Prysmian Group: Prysmian is the world's largest cable manufacturer with a substantial submarine cable business, producing fiber optic cables for both telecom and power applications. While not as vertically integrated on the marine installation side as SubCom, Prysmian is a credible competitor on cable supply contracts and adjacent power-subsea opportunities.
• NKT A/S: NKT is a leading European manufacturer of high-voltage and submarine power cables, increasingly expanding into fiber optic submarine telecom cables. NKT competes with SubCom on wet plant supply and is a relevant comparable given its scale in submarine cable manufacturing.

Emerging players

• Corning Incorporated: Corning is a leading supplier of optical fiber and is increasingly positioning in submarine-grade fiber for long-haul subsea systems. While Corning supplies into SubCom and other system integrators, it is also a partial competitor on the optical component layer of submarine cables.
• Hengtong Optic-Electric: Hengtong is one of China's largest optical fiber and submarine cable manufacturers, competing globally on price-sensitive submarine cable projects. It is a relevant comparable for SubCom as the Chinese subsea supply chain expands internationally.
• Sumitomo Electric Industries: Sumitomo Electric supplies submarine fiber optic cables and has supplied major Japanese-led cable systems, competing with SubCom on transpacific and intra-Asia projects. Sumitomo is a partial competitor focused on cable supply rather than full turnkey system delivery.

Others

• Aqua Comms: Aqua Comms is a subsea cable operator (customer/competitor on the network ownership side) that builds and operates transatlantic capacity cables. While not a supplier, Aqua Comms is a relevant comparable for SubCom's cable system design and deployment capabilities from a customer-architecture perspective.

Regional players

• Global Marine Systems Limited: Global Marine Systems operates a fleet of cable ships and provides marine installation, maintenance, and survey services for subsea telecoms. While not a direct manufacturing competitor to SubCom, it competes on the marine installation and maintenance services layer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/subcom
• Xx.com/subcomllc

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SubCom